Heralds Digest

  “ Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord .” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭112‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The law of physics or thermodynamics teaches the difference between the state of equilibrium (steady) and the transient state. Prior to equilibrium, the state of the matter is affected by the environmental forces, like the weather, economy, and social affairs. But at equilibrium, and like the heart of the righteous, there is no shaking. “ Surely he will never be shaken “. Why? “ His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord ”; and not his personal ability or accomplishments. It implies that absolute trust in the Lord and steadfastness in the heart produce the strongest immunity against the elements of this wicked world. Unfortunately, many people who claim to know the Lord are more sensitive to the forces of evil and darkness. Whereas, the thickest of darkness in the world always b...

  “ Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways .” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭23‬:‭19‬, ‭23‬, ‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The scriptural admonition to ‘guide your heart in the way’ suggests that the end of the matter doesn’t really rest on finding the way. Finding the way is great. While this act is like finding Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, guiding the heart in Jesus is equally as precious. Obviously, finding ‘the way, the truth, and the life ’ will not make the wicked ways, lies, and wastefulness disappear. Their flashes will remain the believers’ constant guests, entertainers, and assessors along the way. Sometimes, they will serve discouragement, disappointment, and despair; but those whose hearts are fixed on God will not suffer any loss. Therefore, guiding the heart in the way requires constant fellowship with the Lord for gracious wis...

  “ The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. ” Psalms‬ ‭111‬:‭2‬, ‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Ordinary pleasures are driven by personal interests; and it is understandable why human pleasures are influenced by worldly affluence, carnal relevance, material riches, and personal ego. This is the same reason why all contributions of works towards these carnal interests are readily celebrated; and works that are seemingly against these interests are either restricted or shut down. Unfortunately, human’s ordinary pleasures have always attracted the displeasure of the almighty God; because they are mostly against His commandments. Even the ordinary pleasure of the Son of Man was once noticed to be against the pleasure of God; and the sin-sacrifice of the whole world had to submit to the pleasure of the heavenly Father “ saying, “Fathe...

  “ Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth .” Psalms‬ ‭110‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ A purpose-driven life is not ruled by facts and figures. Those big data analysis and ideology cannot produce the willingness to work by faith and not by sight. And if a project is entirely driven by facts and figures, its setbacks against the challenges of life will be too great and insurmountable. Whereas, faith produces many useful heavenly resources, like grace, patience, and divine guidance. Anyone who imbibes faith in God cannot be stranded by the facts and realities of life. Therefore, when the scriptures say “ Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power ”, it speaks of divine inspiration on every believer’s associates and upon those who subscribe to faith; and not subdued by facts. It implies that whatever we are surrounded by unwilling people, it makes spiritual sense to wait upon t...

  “ But You, O God the Lord, Deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. ” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭109‬:‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Even when any man refuses to get the punishment he rightly deserves from his fellow man, he remains enslaved in his mind; and he may not be able to express his full freedom. Like a popular childhood story of a boy and his grandma’s chicken. The boy playfully, but accidentally, got the chicken killed with his slingshot, but got caught by his sister while burying the chicken secretly. Unfortunately, the sister took advantage of the boy’s offense and got him to do all her chores until the boy finally decided to confess his sin to Grandma. Surprisingly, the Grandma told him she had known the whole time, because she saw the accident right from the house window. Well, the moral lesson is that God knows in full detail the shortcomings of all of us; and only His mercy can set us totally free from the bondage of sin. Unfortunately, by concealing our shortcom...

  “ Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. ” Proverbs‬ ‭23‬:‭10‬, ‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is instructive that fruitlessness in the father’s fields can produce both a prodigal son and a lost son. While the latter stayed at home fruitlessly, the former strayed away fruitlessly. So, we can learn that fruitlessness in every believer’s occupation and engagements is merely a mindset of removing the ancient landmark or refuting the divinely assigned purpose for existence. And when we do, either as prodigal sons or lost sons, we have entered into the fields of the fatherless. Whereas, the father’s fields are filled with the resources for the fruitfulness of every redeemed child of God, though in diverse formats. We must maintain a close relationship with the Father and the revelations in His manual in order to know how to use the heavenly resources. Unfortunately, prodigal mindsets will always ...

  “ Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person .” Psalms‬ ‭109‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without a conflict of interest in every believer’s relationship with the Lord, there will also be no conflict of interest in all his horizontal relationships. For example, the psalmist’s mindset of reward here is no doubt in conflict with the interest of the Lord. And whenever both the righteous and the wicked are not free from the complexity of a conflict of interest, there would be no justification or award for righteousness between the parties. Whereas, the redeemer’s reward in all relationships is repentance and righteousness for all parties. If the righteous can be consistent in his belief that “ Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself ” (Psalms‬ ‭76‬:‭10‬), he will always join the Redeemer in the business of reconciliation for all men. Unfortunately, no one will qualify for the redeemer’s reward wit...