Heralds Digest

  “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”” Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ As the present world suffers end-time devastation, there is an uprising of diverse needs in refugee camps around almost every nation. And as the psalmist puts it, the type of devastation varies from secret snare, perilous pestilence, traumatic terror, angry arrow, and deadly destruction. Even while the Red Cross vainly struggle to arrest these devastation at the national scales, there are numerous unreported devastation at communal, institutional, family, and personal levels that often pursue everyone on the run across different mountains for deliverance. Unfortunately, many people do run from fry pans into fire in search of refuge from the available mountains of deceit. Whereas, no matter the scale and level of devastation facing life, the only reliable refuge is the...

  “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The race towards finding ‘good’ in life, career, ministry, and relationships is often fuelled by greed, false witness, and absolute deceit. Unknowingly, genuine ‘good’ only comes from God, while fake ‘good’ comes from the Devil. Even when there abounds so much flashy display of material wealth, and carnal privileges from foolish fellowship, the dividend of this carnal pursuit of ‘good’ starts with dissatisfaction and ends with death. It is important to note that the real ‘good’ that satisfies the soul only comes from God; and it is reserved for those who fear Him and keep the understanding of His words and will. When the fools pride in their accumulation of wealth, position, and privileges through the exchange of deceits, they often do not consider their soul’s eternal damnation as the...

  “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭12‬, ‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If life’s engagements and career paths are strictly taken by the visible access to prosperity and popularity, all that is needed in life would be the eyes of wisdom and not the heart of wisdom. Even when most of us believe, like the psalmist, in the heart of wisdom, our actions are sensually dictated by material gains and not the wondrous grace. Whereas, the redeemed of the Lord are primarily delivered from their self-centred engagements, inspired by greed from the devil, into the wondrous works of God. Life’s engagements, besides the wondrous works, are focussed on the beauty of man and the pride of life. And while we get in the way of intervention by the Spirit of the Lo...

  “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Professionals in any systems where performance metrics matter understand the importance of references. Whether documented in curriculum vitae or by mere words of mouth, references from human referees do count significantly. However, and unlike the reference from God, these references are limited to the scope of the practicing profession, jurisdiction, and period. Therefore, when the psalmist declared “ Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations “, he attested to the unlimited scope of God’s reference as believers’ dwelling place. When we all know that human references are expected to bring about the consummation of God’s reference, the hearts of men will no longer fail them on account of the dynamic complexities in human activities. Knowin...

  “Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.” Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭50‬-‭51‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Reproach is naturally distasteful to all people, especially when associated with punishment for wrong doings; and the service of isolation as the least response is understandable. Unfortunately, even when some reproaches are not necessarily associated with wrong doings, the Lord still demands the service of reproach as a sacrifice with sweet aroma from all His beloved servants. For “ If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified ” (I Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬). Obviously, this blessedness from a rejoicing reproach comes from God and the privilege of an express appearance before the throne of grace. And like t...

  “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 ...