Heralds Digest

  “ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ” Romans‬ ‭6:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Since the literal death is non-negotiable, it is clear that the use of the word ‘if’ here implies that a different type of death is being referenced. Obviously, the context speaks about the symbolism of water baptism - a public declaration of a decision to follow Jesus Christ, after accepting His provision of freedom from sin and unrighteousness. And the attraction in this desirable death is that the second death no longer has dominion over those who opted for it. Just as the resurrected Jesus became unrestricted by earthly boundaries, those who are truly raised from the dead with Christ (even while still transacting businesses and managing resources here on earth) have become untouchable by the sting of death and the spat of corruption. The grace for a desirable death is f...

  “ more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life ”. Romans‬ ‭5:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Faithfulness is synonymous to trust in every relationship. While trust is built by actions in the past, faithfulness is anchored on future events. And since everyone has an ugly past, even if yet undiscovered, building a reliable trust in friendship on earth is pretty hard. But here comes a friend who doesn’t need our blood or sacrifices to pay the trust requirement. Jesus paid the price for our salvation and justification by His own blood, even when His friends (everyone and everywhere) were totally unfriendly. Unfortunately, many of us who have been redeemed and reconciled to God by this faithful friend will often prefer to put our trust in promises received from earthly friends, at the expense of our faith in...

  “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ,” Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Even in human assessment, there are grades and levels with glories. And unfortunately, the ongoing instability, invasion, and insecurity at the world stage have everything to do with human discontentment about self-serving assessment of glories in superpower or superiority. However, there is a glory reserved for those whose sins have been forgiven and whose iniquities have been cleansed. It is the attainment of righteousness at the expense of a worthy someone, freely sacrificed by God Himself; and not through the forceful dispossession of others’ privileges and rights. The gracious glory of God in a man’s life sets him apart not just as a shiny light; but as a service light for others who are still groping in darkness. Like the religious people in the days of Apostle Paul, the indispensability of the gracious glory today is demonstrated in the revealed truth “ for all have sinned and fall short of ...

  “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ People seldom join any gang without a proven motivation of a power force. Most times, gangsters are driven by the power to oppress other people, forcefully breakdown law and order, and dispossess people of their rights and position. And to break the band on those who have been ensnared by these evil gangs, there is need for the activation of a superior gang with the supernatural power of God. But to a world that is sensitive to political correctness, many believers are easily ashamed to wear the tag of membership into a gospel gang. Isn’t it funny that unbelievers and people with strong apathy to the way of the Cross and righteousness are more proud to wear their tag; and easily cry foul on a system that pretends to isolate them? It is important to note that the tag of a gospel gang is the evidence ...

  “ But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God .” Acts‬ ‭20:24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The personalization of the race track for every runner is something that most people wouldn’t do. While there might be many people running at the same time and event, everyone has his own track to keep. Any attempt to crisscross the tracks will lead to disqualification and inability to finish the race well. From Paul and the determination to keep his track without distraction, many believers can learn a lot on how to be a good race runner. For those whose life is so important to them, there are so many issues of life to take personal, like 1. Discontentment; 2. Discouragement; 3. Disappointment; etc. But like Paul chose to run his race with grace, we all need the G-factor to run the race before us appropriately and with our priority on godliness...

  “ so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring .’” Acts‬ ‭17:27-28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that searching for God is the sincere motive of all religions. For the Athenian philosophers, the sincerity of this motive was driven by a motto inscribed as ‘ To the unknown God ’ on their service altar. They have always searched for God within the boundary of their own imagination. Whereas, God is Sovereign and He encompasses the infinite limits of all living, moving, and imagination. Shouldn’t we just let Him do the searching, while we simply surrender? Skeptic search has a made-up mindset and interests about the issues at stake; and it is just searching for collaborators. But when we truly come with an open heart, the truth about the state of our hearts and His sincere purpose w...

  “ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses .” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭13:38-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as the same step can be used for stepping up or down, the provisions of grace are left in the hands of beneficiaries to decide the extent of their engagements. Even within the same chapter of Acts 13, Apostle Paul utilized a simple supporting call of the Holy Spirit to become a first-class missionary and group leader. And when he began to encourage others to understand that Jesus is the same source for both salvation and justification, he was speaking from the experience of the tendency to limit the outreach of the Holy Spirit through His saints. Stepping up to possess the promises of God in life is not dependent on our extra-gracious affiliation or privileges from another source. When justification from the guilt of ...