Heralds Digest

  “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.” Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬, ‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If truly God has become the believer’s portion of inheritance, then the psalmist’s prayer “ Preserve me, O God ” will be the protection and preservation of God’s own interests and agenda. For both David and Job, their consistency to this prayer point did not preserve their personal interests in material properties, family, and relationships with associates from being attacked and destroyed. But in God’s time, all these resources were restored with multiplicity of portions. Unfortunately, the waiting time between the enemy’s invasion and divine restoration is always the difficult stretch of believer’s faithfulness and trust in God. We all need grace to truly adopt God as a trusted portion. God sincerely preserves the soul of the righteous from wandering away from His presence; and He surely prevents the wicked from accomplish...

  “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart” Psalms‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Real residents of the world’s performance hills understand the implications of keeping to rules, regulations, and policies for productive relationships. Notwithstanding, real residents may not necessarily be righteous to stay on top of these performance hills. Why? Usually, everyone will selfishly explore the biblical injunction that “ The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬). Unfortunately, God’s holy hill accommodates only righteous residents. The moment someone ceases to walk uprightly, work righteousness, and speak truth in his heart, he is automatically evicted from the holy hill. It doesn’t matter the level of physical engagement and visitation along the order of activities in this world’s performance hills, visitors can...

  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Total trust in oneself is self-defeating for anyone who has the knowledge of God. In the same vein, total trust in God is practically unrealistic for a sensible man. Many believers understand how to get along life’s projects with the combination of trust in God and leaning on personal understanding. Most times, personal understanding takes control when trusting God suggests the trending on clearly assessed dangerous grounds. Whereas, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart’ means ‘Trust GOD and damn the consequences! ’. It is important to underscore that trusting God totally doesn’t imply taking foolish steps to prove a point for ego; but it is not the withholding of foolish steps in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. While the tenable trust will always find the path of least resistance at the ex...

  “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.” Psalms‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬, ‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures say that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it implies that the fear of the enemy is the beginning of foolishness. Just as darkness is simply the absence of light, fear of the enemies is the absence of faith in God. While the psalmist’s inspiration directly addressed the outright fools, who display their foolishness with an open declaration “ There is no God ”, the fearful believers do indirectly display their lack of faith in God by walking through life’s challenges with great fear. Whereas, faith in God simply believes what God has promised and sees only what He is doing through all the manifestations of both the good and the ugly. For example, if Joseph had not faith in God, he would have been carried away...

  “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;” Psalms‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Sleep is a gift from God for human rest, relaxation, and restoration of strength. But the psalmist declares that the gift in some sleep can be turned upside down into the realm of stupidity. The enemies or thieves often induced stupid sleep into their victims to create a window of least resistance, while embarking on their wicked operations. Therefore, the psalmist cried out to God “ Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes ”. Jesus is God’s special Gift to humanity to deliver the soul from stupid sleep, induced by our entanglement with sin. When He said “ I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” , it implies that anyone who has received the gift of salvation from Him can find the Way, follow the Truth, and be filled with Life from heaven on a daily basis. This experience is not just an historical salvation from stupid sleep. It is a daily experience of ...

  “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬, ‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Those who have troubles understanding why God would allow the ravaging storms, the challenges of life and unpleasant circumstances in their affairs are likely to fall from godliness and faithfulness. The enemy always looks for these idle minds on trials with the deceitfulness of riches, wealth, and promotion. Unfortunately, not many people are wary of the war of deadly decadence against the soul. Whereas, the faithful children of God must learn how to cry out, like the Psalmist, ‘Help, Lord! ’, and affirm the sure preservatives in the words of the Lord, against the spate of deadly decadence in their world. Peter cried out the same SOS to the Lord when he and the other disciples were engulfed by the roaring waves of sea; and the Lord simply sent out the wor...

  “So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it” Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Dwelling in God as a reliable refuge is great, but the route to this refuge is not always great. While finding the pathway shouldn’t be difficult in this Information Age, the vast asset to information today is filled with contents, opinions and guidance towards the path of wickedness and evil. Even for those who are rooted in the way of truth and righteousness, they are easily uprooted and misguided by the raging evil passions in today’s social system. In order to walk along the righteous route, especially while in constant confrontation with wicked ways, the redeemed children of God must be committed to embrace the words of God daily. Anybody can claim compliance to the righteous route when unexposed to wicked and corrupt practices. Unfortunately, with the multiplicity of wickedness and socia...