Heralds Digest

  “But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”” Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Security concerns are simply handled by excellent intelligent services. But, depending on the sources of the available intelligent services, there is always this fear of apprehension. It is normal for anyone, who has anticipated or embarked on good projects and initiatives in life, to live consistently with the fear of evil. While the world had reasonably taken care of this reality of fear with the provision of the likes of insurance policies (e.g., life, auto, professional, health insurances, etc), all of these human provisions haven’t taken the fear of evil away. However, God says “ whoever listens to me will dwell safely…without fear of evil! ”. That’s right, God gives His beloved the grace to live absolutely without the fear of evil. This is because both good and evil are within the sovereign power of God; and none of these agents can operate outside God’s good...

  “O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬, ‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is no news that the excelling works of man makes room for the celebration of his name on earth. There only comes news when the works of man begins to block the knowledge of God in the heart. When the works of other men overwhelm the confidence of any man in the promises of God, he can no longer serve the Lord acceptably and obey His words attentively without the fear of man. But when the Psalmist came out of similar fear of man, he exclaimed “ O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth“ . It is always a relieving confidence and strength for anyone to acknowledge the victory in knowing the excellency in God’s name, beyond the excelling works of the greatest man on earth. And those who are blessed with this knowledge of God will do excellent exploits, far more t...

  “God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” Psalms‬ ‭7‬:‭11‬, ‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The reason why God is not an ordinary Judge, but a just Judge, is because of His righteousness; which is a clear departure from the expectation of judgment. That is why ‘God is angry [patient] with the wicked every day ’, instead of destroying them instantly. Unfortunately, not many of the children of God and the beneficiaries of His justification understand their responsibilities in the light of God’s anger or patience, as the children of the light and righteousness. Whereas, “ And God is angry with the wicked every day ” calleth the righteous into the field of evangelism and the sharing of the gospel of light. Inspired by the Psalmist, we can also declare “I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High ” in our...

  “Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded! So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; For their sakes, therefore, return on high.” Psalms‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If there is anything significant that mostly plays out on the minds of those who are surrounded by the challenges of life, it is that the enemies are lifted above the purpose of God. Even when believers claim belief in the lordship of Christ, they often act as though God had embarked on vacation from His throne during the raging of their enemies. Likewise, the Psalmist said “ Arise, O Lord, in Your anger “…do something; and “…” return on high! ”. Whereas, if we truly believe like the Psalmist in the irrevocability of God’s counsel and judgment, we will always praise and worship (or lift) the lifted Lord up on His throne, even in the midst of the raging sea. Whenever believers place a request in prayer for God to ‘Arise, O ...

  “Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.” Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬, ‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When Jim Elliot said ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose’ , I am sure he was inspired by the biblical injunction in Matthew 16:26 “ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ”. Unfortunately, our world is increasingly full of fools who pride in the greedy accumulation of riches, sinful expansion of material wealth, greedy grabbing of positions, especially at the expense of peace in their souls and the gracious gain of eternal rest. Whereas, if we choose to trust in the revelation of the wholesome truth from the word of God and wait patiently in His promises, God’s gracious gain cannot be liquidated by the worldly corruption, depreciation, and even physical death. For exam...

  “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that affliction has a reverting attention; and the strategy of all agents of affliction is primarily the use of this attention on affliction. Whereas, the Almighty remains the focus of all achievers’ attention in their moments of affliction, and adversity. Instead of falling for an attention on affliction, believers use the achiever’s attention as an instrument of distraction on workers of iniquities. ‘For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer ‘ is simply a strategy to focus on the Almighty’s past faithfulness, present fruitfulness, and future fulfillment, even as the hold of the enemy’s affliction attention is being deactivated. If the Almighty is fully believed as the irrevocable Creator of believ...

  “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.” Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The basic reason why relationships with Jesus turn religious is because Jesus is often kept out of daily engagements. The fact of everyday’s activities demands meeting with people at home, in our offices, workplaces, and institutions, either in-person or online. And when these engagements are prosecuted without looking up to the Lord, it is called fact facing instead faith facing. Whereas, the Psalmist said after his daily morning devotion “ And I will look up ”, apparently still looking unto the Lord!  When we look up to the people in our lives without staying our gaze unto the Lord, we are bound to move away from an intimate fellowship with the Lord. Unfortunately, this life’s fact facing disposition comes with heartache and pain, emotional disturbance, and possible depression, especially when challenges and problems arise. Not many people c...