Heralds Digest

  “We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Psalms‬ ‭20‬:‭5‬, ‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Apart from the limitation of seeking salvation from the chariots and the horses in this world, like human intelligence, financial capabilities, political acumen, and social networking, there is something about their offerings of salvation that drags down the hearts in an uncomfortable bondage. Whereas, there is absolute freedom in the salvation from the Lord; because it is offered in the unrivaled name of the Lord. Salvation from elsewhere will often appear to be nearer, faster, and quicker; but it is always unreliable, compared to the special name of Jesus. Whenever the righteous agree to join hands together to call upon the name of the Lord, in any unpleasant situation or harassment at home, workplace, and about life’s proje...

  “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.” Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While ignorance is not a tenable excuse in human judicial parlance, the ignorance of some human’s crafty practices and deceitful intelligence will be an excellent excuse for those who are fully guided by the commandments of the Lord. As acknowledged by the psalmist, certain human intelligence can lead man into presumptuous sins, like the misinterpretation of life’s events and facts based on human knowledge and personal experiences. For example, king Saul misinterpreted the praises of the young David by the women in Israel as the pride of David. It was a presumptuous sin on the part of Saul that led him into greater transgressions, like the destruction of God’s prophets, several assassination attempts, and the eventual suicide that consumed him. Whereas, and as the psalmist has learnt by exper...

  “Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Keeping safe and unspotted by this world’s evil practices requires a religious commitment to the path passing strategy. Sometimes, smartness demands being inquisitive and wanting to find out the skills and genius endowment of the wicked. Unfortunately, the wanting-to-know motive or the path finding initiative often gets one into a very big trouble in life. Therefore, it is always safe to let God decide the quantum of secrets He wants to disclose at every given time along the way. “ Do not enter…do not walk…do not travel…” is simply a path passing strategy. And a path passing strategy is not stupidity; it only keeps the heart of the righteous only on what is important; and it focuses his energy on the divine purpose for life’s existence. Little wonder the scriptures attested elsewhere that “ Good understanding gai...

  “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While astrologers believe that an understanding of the influence of the planets and stars on earthly affairs allows them to both predict and affect the destinies of individuals, groups, and nations, archaeologists study human prehistory and history through  the recovery and analysis of material culture, artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Notwithstanding, all of the revelations from these studies have not succeeded in leading most human beings into a decent declaration of the glory of God. The pursuit of the glory of God represents the embrace of His Will, and obedience to His commandments. While these responsibilities are natural attributes of inanimate objects, like the planets, stars, oceans, rocks, water bodies, and the winds, human beings can no longer yield their freewill naturally because of sin and its depraved nature. Eve...

  “Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭50‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In our material world, the story of deliverance is difficult to be told without the dilution of personal interests. Unfortunately, people are thereby skeptical about volunteering services; because it is believed that the offer of deliverance must be laced with the gain of personal interest. But here, David’s great deliverance and mercy are reserved for God’s king and anointed…not primarily for his personal interest. And just as the righteous are drawn to acknowledge the greatness and the glory of God, faith in His great deliverance from all the battles in life is strengthened. Why? It would be part of the undeniable glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom. Therefore, as long as God is allowed to take the stage in the believer's life pursuit, the righteous’ great deliverance from all the challenges of life is undeniable…because it i...

  “For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The perfect understanding of God’s superior strength in all circumstances of life provides the greatest refuge for those who dare to put their confidence solely on Him. Before the attainment of this level of faith, the enemy rides on believers’ ignorance with myriad flashes of human strength, political power, financial prowess, and carnal intelligence. While these human sources of strength are designed by God for the promotion of the glory of the Almighty, most sinful men and individuals have often yielded to the temptation of using these privileges as weapons against the glory of God. Unfortunately, believers’ ignorance is often taken advantage of when they quack and fall down to worship the pseudo GOD in their lives and the images setup by him. Whereas, if we can stay in the light and always obey the commandments of the Almighty, we should be a...

  “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬, ‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The primary motivation in every man’s everyday activities is simply described by an action word ‘getting’ . In fact, there is no objective in any project proposal without a clear ‘getting’ statement. As a new week or new day starts, what is the proposed ‘getting’ is the most reasonable preoccupation of everyone. While the normal list includes money, material properties, opportunities, and position, the scriptures says the normal list is useless without the gracious getting…which is wisdom and the understanding of God’s words. Obviously, no man can succeed in checking this life’s normal list without the normal type of wisdom…albeit by failing into the devil’s trap with greed, wickedness, and unrighteousness. But gracious getting requires waiting for ‘every word that...