Heralds Digest

  “ For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light .” Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Light shines brightest in the dark for sure; but it is extremely difficult to sustain its fuelling in a prolonged darkness. Considering the evil and wickedness that men do as darkness, and the good and godliness as the light, no one is capable of sustaining life’s light without the grace of God. Therefore, the psalmist confessed that ‘For with You (God) is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light ’. Besides the presence of the fullness of God’s grace, it is easy for afflicted souls to be embittered by the wickedness of men. And while that happens, even when these souls continue to claim uprightness, they are blinded by the clouds of bitterness against their oppressors. Whereas, everyone who ensure consistent shower of God’s grace in all his daily engagements sees just the brightness of light, even in the blackness of darkness. Therefore, if anyone wants to retain life’s light on...

  “ Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths” Proverbs‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Friendship and relationships are easily attracted by the status of profiles; but the consuming portions are dictated by the adopted paths in the relationships. Unrighteous path lead all its travellers into nothing less than destruction. Notwithstanding, in today’s world of social engagement and inclusiveness, straying into diverse paths happens easily, and mostly without of a partner's consent. Even family and fellowship members, with shared cultural and doctrinal values, are not spared from the corrupt influence of our ever-changing pressure and performance-driven world. The salient admonition is clear. Even if you cannot choose the profiles of your partners, pay attention to their paths; and take responsibility for your choice of portion. And if everyone can sincerely pay attention to the w...

  “ Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long ” Psalms‬ ‭35‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ A prayer for a righteous rejoicing of the people over the life experience of the psalmist confirmed the reality of temporal moments for rejoicing over deceitful devising and wicked winking. These are the days when the righteous often ask the Lord ‘ Why holding on while the heathen rage and wicked people imagine vain things? ’. Whereas, these people are the same target that heaven is preparing for righteous rejoicing. Therefore, like all of God’s battle axes and weapons of war, the righteous are expected to be fully released as instruments to herald the gospel of repentance and redemption. More often than not, gospel heralds are more effective by sharing experiences from the trenches, while ...

  “ And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him? ”” Psalms‬ ‭35‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While the story of deliverance is always twisted to focus on the object of deliverance (the depressed deliveree), a focus on the subject of deliverance (the dependable deliverer) is better. If David had focussed on himself as the object of deliverance from the hands of King Saul, he would have fallen into the temptation of helping himself to kill Saul when he had the opportunity. But he preferred to endure more persecution and plundering in order to enthrone the glory of God, as a great and dependable deliverer. Perhaps, King Saul could have used the gracious opportunity to repent; and join in the chorus of the great deliverer of all ages. Likewise, when believers spend more time on the trail of persecution and tri...

  “Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions. I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people” Psalms‬ ‭35‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Triumphant thanksgiving is soothing to many people and not the preceding troubles and trials; but how sweet is the sound of triumph without the preceding scent of troubles and trials? By the thanksgiving agenda of the psalmist, we understand that the sweetness of thanksgiving is always in the scent of troubles and trials: “ I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people ”. What is the composition of the thanksgiving’s great assembly; and who are those that makes its many people? Wouldn’t they have included the psalmist’s fierce witnesses, attackers, and ungodly mockers, who previously feasted on his troubles and trials? So, why the “ Lord, how long will You look on? “. Anyway, the ultimate experience of believers in life’s battlefiel...

  “And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding, Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house” Proverbs‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Freedom from sin and all forms of unrighteousness is possible, only by the grace of God. The scriptures have this to say about the grace when it is received “ teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age ” (Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬). Unfortunately, the grace does not cover a race into careless corners. The red alert into careless corners in life is not always invisible, but careless souls are often overconfident towards treating the red alerts as red apples. And as soon as the seemingly delicious apple is crushed between the teeth, the venom of the encircled serpent is released. There are numerous paths toward the careless corners in search of fame, fun, and fortunes in life; but only the Calvary corner guarantees ...

  “Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.” Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as good and evil are words and opposite, peace and troubles have the same reflections. Unfortunately, doing good or pursuing peace is strictly a personal responsibility. The responsibility cannot be shared with others. That is, doing good to those who seem to deserve it is tantamount to sharing the responsibility for the act. It is the reason why many people struggle with the divine call to follow peace with all men. Any sane person can follow peace with those who reciprocate by a perceived act of goodness and sweet fellowship. Whereas, only those who have found sufficient grace to do good and pursue peace with everyone within their networks, despite the unwarranted receipt of wickedness, are blessed and called children of God. It is always not enough to seek peace by our invitation with everyone in life; we need consistent grace from the Lord to pursue it, even when our invitation is repudia...