Heralds Digest

  “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ A sustainable social system is built on a focused management of measurable metrics or standards, including insecurity, injustice, and oppression. This is always the basis of a mass exodus or migration of people from regions with poor or low standards of living to regions considered as developed or with high standards of living. Unfortunately, even in celebrated regions of the world, there has been no reliable refuge in a human system that is devoid of injustice and oppression. They just come in different shades and turns as the people move with systems. And after the Psalmist reflected on this challenge, he realized that only those who put their trust in God as the reliable refuge can truly find rest in times of trouble. It implies that there is no need for anyo...

  “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The making of a marvelous person is more than the making of manifold properties and possessions. For the Psalmist to be able to praise God with his whole heart, it was because he realized his being the embodiment of God’s marvelous works, including the salvation of his soul and a total redemption from destruction. Likewise, believers have become the extension of God’s creativity; and the earlier they realize the agenda of the Most High with all the surrounding challenges of life, the earlier the cap of praise is turned on with absolute concentration. Also, the moment the righteous chooses to rejoice in God, rather than the carnal rejoicing in the accumulation of material achievements, he instantly becomes a praise person and not just a praising person. Therefore, a praise person is o...

  “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...