Heralds Digest

  “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭19‬, ‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Why is a brother offended harder to win than a strong city? It is probably the reason why the scriptures admonish against disputes over doubtful things (Romans 14:1). Brothers or brethren have more advantages over one another’s strength and weaknesses, compared to a complete stranger. In reality, contentions, strife, and wars are readily fought with the assistance of a compromised insider. Only a fool goes to war without the gathering of intelligent information from an insider. Unfortunately, most peace accords have failed because they are perceived by parties as another intelligent avenue for information gathering from an insider. Therefore, the scriptural recommendation is that “ A man who has friends must himself be friendly ”; which is...

  “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.” Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures command “ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities ”, there appears to be a complete oblivion of the reality of corrupt and wicked administration. The misconception of many citizens on the governing authorities is that government is mostly misinterpreted as a personality drive, instead of a system drive. Good government is the collective responsibility of all citizens, and not the absolute job specifications of an identifiable personality at the top. Therefore, irrespective of the mistreatment supposedly received from any personality drive in a government, a good citizen is focussed on good works as the necessary fulfillment of his own responsibilities to good government. And if the righteous truly believes that there is no authority except from God, then he knows ...

  “Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Literally, it appears faithfulness in relationship with humans is best covered by insurance; whereas, the concept of assurance is reserved only for the divine. With insurance, there is always a provision for escape or reneging on the promises for protection. But with the assurance of intent and purposes, God said “ Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail”. The reason is simply because God is a covenant-keeping Creator with unlimited potentials and resources. He is just not capable of breaking covenant or reneging from His promises. The implication of this revelation is that all covenant-breaking humans can count on Him to cover their limitations. And like David enjoyed God’s lovingkindness with his seeds, everyo...

  “Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him”” Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures say, with respect to help from God, “ I have given help to one who is mighty ”, it suggests that God’s holy help is reserved for those who are willing to show their might in the face of troubles. After David was anointed with God’s holy oil, he began to show God’s might by facing Goliath, enemies within, and enemies without; but in all through these troubles, the presence of God provides guidance and preservation. Therefore, holy help does not, most times, make troubles go away; but rather, it sometimes appears God’s holy help invokes troubles before the good begins to come. Now, the bigger picture of sowing the seed of grace, godliness, and righteousness in the face of troubles and the challenges of life is the major essen...

  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.” Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the privileges of a shield is the provision of refuge and safety against attacks by the enemies. Since wealth, position, and the stocking of armoury are accessible by human intelligence, the scriptures attest to the fact that “ The rich man’s wealth [position, power] is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem ”. Unfortunately, the human shields are always limited, unreliable, and unsafe in the battle against the true enemy of the human soul. The moment the soul is enslaved by sin, deceit, and unrighteousness, the best of human shields can only provide a massage therapy to the body; leaving the soul still under the bondage of restiveness, anxiety, and guilt. And of course, the final wages of this invasion is death. Therefore, the most reliable secret place is the nam...

  “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.” Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭14‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If Adolf Hitler had been privileged to see the global extensions of the children of Abraham today, perhaps he would have had a second thought on how best to secure a shield for the Nazi. Even today, the pursuit of unrighteousness and injustice is not necessarily the absence of understanding on good shield; the misdirection is always influenced by an individual's interests in self-centered shield. Unfortunately, the pursuit of self-centered shield is still driving the menace of nepotism, racism, discrimination, corruption and segregation in our world. And the consequence of the unending war is the absence of a secured shield with security, peace, salvation, and joy. Until grace is found, no on...

  “You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them. You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.” Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭9‬, ‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ After watching ‘True Spirit’ based on Jessica Watson’s book on Netflix, I still couldn’t crave less for more disclosure on the source of inspiration beyond Wikipedia’s reference to a bedtime story of Jesse Martin's book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit. The reality is that our world and life’s engagements represent a theater of adventure and fear; and only those who are inspired by the supernatural can brave the raging tides. For the psalmist, this inspiration comes from God, the Creator of heaven and the earth. Unfortunately, and like Peter who accepted to step into the waters with Jesus, it is easier to get carried away by the raging sea, even after stepping in by faith. But then, it is always good to remember the scriptural inspiration about God: “ You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and ...