Heralds Digest

  “The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalms‬ ‭25‬:‭9‬, ‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without hurdles on believers’ paths, following God would be an easy peasy for any seemingly religious person. Unfortunately, no one is allowed to brag on the highway of holiness, filled with humble hurdles and different sorts of discouraging drags. For example, Moses initially thought he had gotten hold on how to figure out the way to the promised land and the leadership challenges with the assistance of Aaron. He later discovered his error through the humble hurdles created by Aaron; and then raised an SOS to the Lord with a plea “ If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here (Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭15)”. The humble hurdles created by the seemingly helpful assistants and organized methodologies against progress in life will certainly introduce delays, drags, and disappointments. Notwithstan...

  “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Trust in a relationship is more about accepting a partner’s position than receiving a personal preference. And in relationship with God, when the psalmist says ‘O my God, I trust in You’ , he underscores the acceptance of God’s position on TRUST (time, righteousness, understanding, sincerity, and teaching). Whenever we choose to adopt a different position on these variables, as influenced by personal and societal pressure against the counsel of God, it just shows we have a trust problem. Whereas, true trust must pass the litmus test of time - God’s promises are always fulfilled at His own time, not ours - “ Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed (verse 3)”; it must pass the litmus test of righteousness - heaven helps the righteous, and not those who must help themselves - “ Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously with...

  “Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Family dinner, devotions, discussions, and decisions are just a few out of the numerous benefits of the family fountain, designed for mental, spiritual, and emotional stability of homes and the society. Unfortunately, today’s social media, entertainment, and peer pressure have created several abroad-dispersed fountains for the destruction of divinely-ordained family institutions. And when it is becoming difficult for families to pray, plan, and play together, it is no longer a surprise that our nations, societies, and institutions are getting more motivated in the enterprise of utilizing the advances in knowledge for the development of IEDs (improvised explosive devices). For example, by drinking water and feeding on abroad-dispersed fountains, love is fabricated as lust, decency is celebrated as d...

  “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.” Psalms‬ ‭24‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The access between the kindred for glory and the King of glory has been the battleground from the beginning; and the challenge has always been the setting up of gates to prevent the passages of the King within His kingdom. The King is the Creator of heaven and earth, whose earth and the fullness thereof are His and represent the kingdom. Since the fall of man and the loss of access into the presence of the King, believers have been privileged to be called, chosen, and commissioned to access and dwell in the presence of the King through a consistent daily lifestyle. Notwithstanding, a pure passage can never be a one-way traffic of believers into the throne of grace. A pure passage also embraces the unhindered coming of the King of glory into His kingdom, which is the heart of man and all his daily affairs. Therefore, when the psalmist says ‘Lift...

  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The evidence of the Lord  becoming believer’s Shepherd and Sufficiency is found, not when he is surrounded with pleasantries in people, places, and purpose; but rather when he walks through the fear simulator, like the valley of the shadow of death. Since the singular purpose of fear is the depletion of faith in the sufficiency of God in a believer's life, it is only a focus on what God is doing with all the instruments of fear that saves believers from the purpose of the enemy. And like Job defeated the purpose of the enemy by staying with God, in times of his walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we can see why and what the psalmist declares and means by “ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬). We shall not want, even though in want, when God alone has truly become o...

  “A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The obvious want of motivation for righteousness is mostly connected with the apparent discouragement and insincerity in the world’s reward system. Even in the service of the Lord, the righteous needs a consistent reassurance of commitments to the promise “ For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard ” (Psalms‬ ‭22‬:‭24‬). Whereas, by reflecting on the span of victory through the Saviour’s sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, it is possible for the righteous to differentiate the value between a present prosperity and posterity’s prosperity. Just like Jesus remained the most famous man in history and will be in all of eternity, the righteous in today’s society should like...

  “Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures say elsewhere that “ A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold ” Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬), it implies that there is a difference between honest honours and a dishonest honour. Here, we can understand the admonition that dishonest honour don’t actually last and it is always a waste of personal dignity and respect at the end for those who are deceived therefrom. Even though honest honour can face strong discouragement and disappointment at the beginning, the end always shows the sacrifice is worth the efforts. But what really makes the HONEST in these special honours? Honesty and humility - unless someone really knows God as the true paymaster in life, it is always easy for anyone to tow the path of dishonesty and diplomacy on the ethics and p...