Heralds Digest

  “Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power Preserve those who are appointed to die.” Psalms‬ ‭79‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One significant omission in all the plots against the people of God is the sovereignty and greatness of God. Not just that enemies always undermine the greatness and sovereignty of God, the people of God are also often subjected into the ignorance mode. For example, when the brethren of Joseph plotted and successfully implemented an end to Joseph‘s dream, they had no idea that their plots complimented God’s plan for Joseph. While the human plots led Joseph from extermination in the pit to suppression in Potiphar’s slavery, God’s greatness was simply manifested by His presence. And the story remained the same while the human plots led Joseph from suppression in Potiphar’s slavery to incarceration in the prison. The story about God’s greatness eventually changed when it was time for Joseph to be brought from prison to the pa...

  “From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭71‬-‭72‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If David had lived in our days, the skill set required of him to qualify as a good leader would have added the sophistication of the people to the integrity of heart and the skilfulness of hands. Notwithstanding, the major lesson here is that God carefully chose someone with desirable service skills and experience to shepherd His people. Unfortunately, today, people’s sophistication advances without a commensurate enhancement in the integrity of heart and the skilfulness of hands. Even in the days of David, the sophistication of the people that he led in the city was higher than the intelligence of the sheep he shepherded in the bush. He had to continue to grow his service skills on the job, in order to cope with the nuances ...

  “But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.” Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭52‬-‭53‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While there are several accounts with the expression of fear by the children of Israel in the wilderness, the scriptures attest to these experiences (in comparison with the fate of their enemies) as ‘so that they did not fear!’ . Notwithstanding, it is evident that many among these people are those who were prevented from entering the promised land by their fear and unbelief. It implies that the ‘fate fear’ experiences are not designed to overwhelm the children of God, like ‘the sea overwhelmed their enemies’ . The fate fear is always a useful call-out of the believer’s faith in the saving power of God. Therefore, when fate brings fear (false experiences appearing real), fate is testing believers’ faith in the unfailing power of the Lord. Always remember, the sa...

  “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility” Proverbs‬ ‭15‬:‭33 ‭NKJV‬‬  “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is something detestable about the pursuit of honour in life; it is easily conceived as selfishness and the display of arrogance. True and incontestable honour comes after an honest display of humility. Unfortunately, many smart people have mastered the transaction for honour with the display of fake humility. For example, the undiscerning partners are readily deceived during courtship until the marital vows are exchanged. Thereafter, the true colour of arrogance, disrespect, and lack of submission is unveiled in the family relationships. Even in the pursuit of public service, politicians and public administrators often used fake humility to attract votes and public interest; and thereafter turn around to become the arrogant despots after securing th...

  “When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures says elsewhere that “ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him (Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭15‬) ”, it implies the divine approval of the slender stick for believers’ correction; and not necessarily their condemnation. Unfortunately, some people are bound to stretch the slender stick to the point of destruction through their hardness of heart and stiff-neck disposition. Beside the children of Israel who responded to the slender stick in this context, the scriptures is filled with several references of those who embraced the use of the slender stick to their advancement and conversion. For example, God used the whale as the slender stick to correct the disobedient Jonah; while He used blindness to convert Saul to Apostle Paul. Even today, God still uses several slender sticks in the life, relationshi...

  “Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In every human and carnal context, salvation is measured by the physical metrics of the likes of food, health, and material supplies. The experiences of the children of Israel with GOD in the wilderness are guided by this familiar context. And even though they did not believe God for their sustenance in the wilderness, God rained them food supplies from the cloud and water supplies from the rock. Unfortunately, these strange supplies of human carnal desires still regulate human relationships with God today. We are readily attracted to the mountains and hills where supernatural manifestations of our material and physical needs are handed out, without an inner quest for the salvation of our souls. Even those who had claimed an initial encounter of salvati...

  “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,” Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One significant expectation from soldiers is their being battle-ready at all times. And while the sound is awry to the ear, life is a battlefield; and only soldiers with the weapon of war and persevering hardness get to win the battle against the unrelenting enemies. Like the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, most believers have folded their hands and failed to shoot their arrows in the days of battle. Whereas, the Lord often unveils the day of battle through the incidence of strange occurrences in the believer's home, workplace, ministry, and social lifestyles. Even while the enemies of the gospel and the opposition forces against the counsels of God are relentlessly occupied with the development and deployment of their vices, ignorant believers are sometimes recruited t...