Heralds Digest

  “In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.” Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ ‘All that glitters is not gold ’ says the adage on the essence of love, morality and uprightness in human relationships. Unfortunately, today’s culture does celebrate all that glitters, particularly at the expense of righteousness, integrity, and uprightness, as long as it promises material security, political relevance, and financial independence. Even in the assembly of God’s people, why is there little or no concern about the loss of peace and trust at every temptation to explore the path of unrighteousness? The same logic of the serpentine deception from the enemy “ You will not surely die” (Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬) often holds sway against the peaceful pathway. Whereas, the peaceful pathway that pursues righteousness alone may attract delay, difficulties, and a temporal denial of all that glitters; it does definitely guarantee no death at all.

  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭16‬, ‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Intimate relationships are all about fruitful fellowship, with tangible testimony of the impact. It is not surprising today that the intimate relationship with social media has a devastating impact on fruitful fellowship at home and people across all relationships. Likewise, an intimate relationship with God declares the useful evidence of a fruitful fellowship in believers’ lifestyles. Therefore, the psalmist had to invite people within his circle to review this evidence. “ Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul“ . Even without an open declaration, people can easily ‘come and hear’ , except when there is nothing to declare. Unfortunately, without an intimate relationship with God because of iniquity, there will always be nothing to declare in all relationship...

  “Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You”” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Throughout the ages, the reverence of the power and privileges of man has always attracted stupid submission; and not just the necessary loyalty and respect. For example, the children of Israel preferred stupid submission to Pharaoh until the awesomeness of God’s power was displayed by Moses. Then, the children of Israel were able to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground. Also, there were many Jews in Babylon who fell into stupid submission to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden images until Shadrach, Messach, and Abednego singled themselves out. Then, Nebuchadnezzar was able to know God, who can deliver His children from the burning fiery furnace. The common denominator here is that stupid submission embraced submission to the enemies of God; and a rejection of the awesomeness of His works and manifestation. Whereas, all believers must exerc...

  “Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭65‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Given that the general understanding of prayer is securing answers to personal needs, most people with sufficient access to the basic needs of life have developed little or no interest in prayer. Some would readily attribute prayer sessions to a reflection of idleness. Whereas, the meeting of personal needs is secondary to the privilege of an intimate fellowship with God. More than asking God to meet needs, prayer is simply meeting God personally. Anyone can call upon God; but not everyone is privileged to meet God. Therefore, the scriptures say “ Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts ”. We may have myriads of problems and the challenges of life that potentially drive us into the presence of God; but the moment we are privileged to me...

  “The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment. The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭19‬, ‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Deceit and diligence have more attractive combinations in our broken world. Even the scriptures acknowledge their temporal establishment “ The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment” . But how long does it take for the truthful lip to start attracting dividends? It depends on the righteous’ decent delight in diligence, no matter how long it takes. Unfortunately, laziness is not just the absence of hard work or novel initiative; it is the deficient sustenance of diligence in hard work or godly inspiration. Having caught a vision for excellence in life is not always enough; a decent delight in diligence is required to stick to the vision, despite the challenges of life and opposition against its manifestations. Therefore,...

  “All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭64‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The best of men’s works, good or bad, are limited in scope and significance. But while the attention on human activities lasts, some men may be carried away by negative callings into godlessness and unrighteousness. For example, human advances and technological innovations are being used today to promote all forms of satanic agenda and wicked activities. And some so-called believers in Christ are getting carried away with deceitfulness of unrighteousness. Notwithstanding, those who trust in the Lord and keep their garment of righteousness will wait for the manifestation of God’s wonderful works. This is because His works are unlimited in scope and significance. For all eyes, wise or wicked, shall see the glory of God’s wonderful works. Most times, the ...

  “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The difference between helping hands and hurting hands is not necessarily the help or hurt. It is the distinction between God and the adversaries. Beyond the physical hurt inflicted by the adversaries, the emotional hurts can be immensely overwhelming that the afflicted souls can hardly remember the promises of God. For example, even when Hannah was surrounded by a show of affection from her husband, the hurt imposed by her adversary reduced all the shows of love to nothing, until she found the source of true helping hands. Little wonder, the eventual help from God was named Samuel, saying ‘Because I asked for him from the Lord ’ (1 Samuel 1:20). Unfortunately, life’s hurt gets more painful and depressing when believers keep hoping for the medium of their helping hands in man. Whereas, the psal...