Heralds Digest

  “Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭69‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If the thesis produced from David’s experience in the mire and deep waters was rightfully graded, it would have attracted more than Ph.D or D.Sc. degree. Obviously, one of the objectives of his deep drench is the mastery of the circumstances on the field with the ability to float, swim, and fly. Likewise, the deep drench in life offers the test pads for the development and distribution of innovative ideas. And the most amazing part of the deep drench experiences is the fellowship with God, the author and finisher of believers’ faith. “ Deliver me…let me not…let me…and let not the floodwater, pit, deep, etc ” is primarily the expression of a sweet fellowship between a believer and God. The fellowship with floodwater, pi...

  “Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.” Psalms‬ ‭69‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The danger of living for self glory is not just the shame of failure; the pursuit of self glory undermines the parade of the glory of God. It implies that, unlike the lies of the enemy, there is no risk of failure for those who wait for the Lord and the performance of His promises. Unfortunately, whenever we seem to accept helping God out, we are actually aiming to protect our interests in self glory from failure and disappointment. Believers can truly learn the art of waiting upon the Lord from David, who waited ceaselessly for the fulfillment of God’s promise to reign as king over all Israel and Judah. Even after king Saul resisted God’s plan unto his shame, Abner selfishly continued to wear the regalia of pride against the counsel of God for over 7 years until his destruction. All this while, David ha...

  “Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.” Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If content creation is problem solving, then problems are blessings in disguise. Unfortunately, today’s societies and families are encouraging the upbringing of children with a wrong value set - e.g, wealth generation through cash creation, rather than content creation. Even parents who struggled to escape poverty would rather prefer suffering to generate the cash-based wealth to spoil their children’s character of dignity in labour, discipline, and problem solving skills. Consequently, the dignity in labour, self-discipline, and integrity are quickly eroded without being mindful of the lack of justice committed for the upcoming generations. When the scriptures say “ Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor ”, it awakens the sense of responsibility in man. It implies that the primary purpose of every fallow field in a believer's life is simply the offering of...

  “Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!” Psalms‬ ‭68‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When people say absolute power corrupts absolutely, they attest to the psalmist’s submission “ Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds ”. Those who do otherwise (i.e., ascribe strength to themselves) often get corrupted and consumed by their own strength). Obviously, it was too late for king Saul to wake up to this reality. He and his three sons were corrupted and consumed absolutely on Mount Gilboa. But then, what does ‘ His strength is in the clouds ’ mean to believers? I guess users of today’s advanced cloud storage systems can relate to this concept…a mimicking of unlimited and unrestricted data capacity. Since God’s power and strength are sovereign and unlimited, those wh...

  “But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses. The Lord said, “I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, That your foot may crush them in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”” Psalms‬ ‭68‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that every expression of fear for the enemies represents the embrace of faithlessness in God, especially from those who claim their refuge and faith in God. For example, when the rage of the enemies lasts for so long, “ But God will wound the head of His enemies “ is easily interchanged with “ Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul” . Unfortunately, in times of despair and disappointment, believers often forget to remember why God always goes for the head of His enemies. Faith in God’s strategy of head hemorrhaging lives no fear for the enemies in the hearts of believers. The only worthwhile fear in life is th...

  “Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭68‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ For the most part, the prosperity obtained from the mountains of many peaks can be misleading. But while it is able to accumulate pleasures by fuming with envy and wickedness, it cannot access grace to accommodate the presence of God. Unfortunately, it is not enough to  boast of a flash of God’s presence. The mountain which God desires to dwell in must possess the fullness of His grace, including the saving grace, sustaining grace, and the strengthening grace. For example, while David was able to overcome the temptation to avenge himself by killing king Saul when the opportunity presented itself to him in a cave at the wilderness of Engedi, he would later have fallen into the fuming temptation to avenge himself by killing Nabal the Carmelite. But because of God’s grace and His delight, David was sust...

  “Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.” Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Wealth accumulation, as limited to cash creation, promotes several vices, including dishonesty and deceit in all forms of relationship. And as cash depreciates in value, the wealth diminishes. Unfortunately, many people are used up by the current life’s standards of living and demand to create depreciating wealth, while losing the more important purpose for living. Whereas, wealth accumulation with the perception of content creation is more healthy. Even when cash delays in coming, a focus on content creation is driven by passion, problem solving, and value addition. Those who understand the importance of content creation in relationships are patient with the process of building integrity, respect, and trust. It is not surprising that wealth created on the content wrapped with integrity, respect, and trust becomes more of an appreciating legacy than a depreciat...