Heralds Digest

  “ I have declared my ways, and You answered me; Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. ” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Advances in knowledge, understanding, and discretion have great, proven, and productive indices for national development in all of human socio-economic affairs. And it makes a lot of sense to see how the thoughts of people on project planning, career progression, and socio-cultural engagements are easily driven by these productive indices. Unfortunately, the way of the Lord as inspired by His statutes often take a different path to these human’s productive indices. For example, when the people of God were sent away to captivity to serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon for 70 years, it was earlier for many people to believe the false prophecies of liberation from the yokes than the true prophecy from prophet Jeremiah. Even today, we are more attracted to the advances of our mindsets ...

  “ Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law .” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Watchfulness in the business of life is absolutely subjective. It depends on the individual's will powers. And so likewise is everyone’s disposition to the words of the Lord and the revelation of His counsels. Unfortunately, human’s will power is easily twisted by the negative influences in our societies or the prevailing online contents and entertainment. Even the exposure of believers to divergent counsels of the people within their communities can generate strong and negative will powers. Whereas, soberness and a sincere openness to the total counsels of God require the help of the Spirit of God. So, the psalmist had to cry out “ Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law”. Without the help of the Spirit, we can always see j...

  “ Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God ;” I Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as conventional economics define human needs as insatiable, it is not surprising why self-pleasing ventures in this world are depressingly perplexing. It is almost accurate to say that the more anyone has of the things of this world, the more he scales up on the degree of dissatisfaction. Whereas, when Apostle Paul was inspired to admonish the persecuted brethren in the Thessalonians church on the subject of pleasing prosperity, he took an exception in a gracious passion for pleasing God. Whenever believers finally find the courage to drive towards pleasing God alone in their day-to-day activities and social relationships, they suddenly discover the secret of godliness and contentment. And while the world is drifting towards the edge of dissatisfaction with their pursuits ...

  “ How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word .” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭9‬, ‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The pursuit of self-discovery requires consistent training and exposure to advanced learning about the philosophy of life and happiness through social relationships. There are many theories and social techniques that have been proposed and proven to improve the quality of human life and interrelationships with one another. But none of these theories and techniques can guarantee the retention of joy and peace in the hearts of men, except the knowledge of the words of the Lord and the understanding of His way. Unfortunately, many so-called believers stopped at the knowledge of the words of the Lord. They failed to appropriate His grace towards the understanding of the way of the Lord, especially in their day to day activities and relations...

  “ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The undefiled in a sane system with institutional uprightness shouldn’t be so confident. Even the most fraudulent people will behave themselves in sane and orderly society with an uncorrupted system of policing. It implies that the true test of uprightness and sincerity is a passmark and freedom from deranged defilement. This appears to be the focus of the psalmist when he alluded to the blessedness of an escape from deranged defilement. “ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! ”. Unfortunately, this type of blessedness is attainable only by those who, like Jeremiah the Prophet, can withstand the derangement in persecution and the temptation to dump the truth. “ Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name. ” But His word was in my heart...

  “ Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter. ” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Believers are often quick to claim the promise “ I shall not die, but live ”, without an accurate reflection on the part “ And declare the works of the Lord” . Most often than not, the works of the Lord require the navigation of the gates with apparent defeat, darkness, and, sometimes, death. Yes, the death of the righteous is never ever a violation of the promise “ I shall not die, but live ”, as long as the works of the Lord are declared. Therefore, the pursuit of righteousness in duties, devotion, and declarations of the people of the Lord requires a consistent focus on the heavenly resources. It is important to note that anyone who can be distracted by earthly benefits cannot stay on the glorious gates. So, the next time we want to claim ‘I shall not die’ , let’s be sure the prim...

  “ For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring? ” Proverbs‬ ‭24‬:‭16‬, ‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ As we grow older, physical falling becomes too scary and damaging exercise. Likewise, the risk of financial, career, and professional falls are difficult for anyone to manage without the grace of God. Fortunately, the narrative is amazingly comforting for a righteous man. “ For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again “ implies there is a crystal difference between a fruitful fall and a free fall. The former fall is divinely driven, while the latter is carnally motivated with irredeemable consequences. Unfortunately, we are often tempted to treat the two types of fall with the same assessment. And when this happens, believers risk committing the sin of giving to change. I...