Heralds Digest

  ” Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me. “ ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭7‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The gifts from king Artaxerxes to Ezra made a significant difference in the project of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord. Prior to this time, many kings and governors have fought vigorously against the project; and repressed every attempt to undertake the same project. Obviously, it is true that when the hands of the Lord are upon any project in life, He uses even our enemies to make significant contributions to the success of the project. Even when it appears the people’s hands are vigorously against the pursuit of God’s purpose in our lives, their actions and ...

  ” On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel .“ ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Unlike the world always wants us to believe, stopping evil is not complicated. Just stop evil doing yourself! Yes, stopping evil is always complicated when the focus is on stopping others from advancing in their evil propaganda and manifestations. Whereas, personal engagement in doing good simply works better and faster. Instead of advancing evil with the engagement of strategies against the evil hands of others, believers will achieve more by simply engaging the good hands of God through consistent fellowship. Like it worked with Ezra of old, God’s good hands know how best to engage the evil hands of the enemies for the believers’ good. At His time...

  ” I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. “ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The power of human declarations in life is always limited by the strength of their meditation. Those who are intimidated by the powers of the principalities around them have a tenable reason for their reactions: they meditate only on the threats of these principalities. But when the psalmist said ” I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works ”, it must be an exercise of a deliberate decision of a courageous mind against the threats of the prevailing principalities. That was the only reason why a seemingly small David could defeat the giant Goliath. Unfortunately, believers today like and prefer the unthreatened and empty declarations of God’s wondrous works for just feel-good sakes. Whereas, the real declarations of all faithless men a...

  ” And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid .“ ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Like it was with the building of most family projects, collaboration of the priests, the builders, and the people were required to lay the foundation of the house of the Lord in the days of Zerubbabel. The builders built by laying the blocks and the building materials, the priests built by their offerings of the ceremonial sacrifices to invite the presence of the Lord, and the people built by praising the Lord with the expression of their gratitude to God for His favour and preservation while the projects last. Projects lag and drag with disunity among the elements and stakeholders in the family business and project; and this has always been the target of the enemies to create his divide and...

  ” Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood— That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style” Psalms‬ ‭144‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Palace pillars are not necessarily built in the palace; they are most likely products from the pit, the prison, and the pots of affliction. Even when worked upon by the hands of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words and perverse things, palace pillars are always consistent with their cry out for deliverance from the worldly celebration as prison pillars. Isn’t that what inspired the conviction of the psalmist elsewhere that ” For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness ” (Psalms‬ ‭84‬:‭10‬)? Unfortunately, many promising palace pillars today would rather trade their calls to the palace fo...

  ” But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves .“ ‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ With reference to the revelation of the Lord in the book of Psalm as the Sun and Shield (Psalms 84:11), it is not far-fetched the revelation of Jesus Christ in the book of Malachi as the Sun of Righteousness. And with the understanding of healing in His wings, He is also no doubt our Shield for Restoration. The storms of life do not only threaten the emotional stability of man; they shake the foundation of believers’ faith in God. Sometimes, it is difficult to understand what the likes of Polycarp (AD70-156) did differently, compared with the three Hebrew children (Shedrach, Messach, and Abednego), to get burnt up at the age of 86 for his faith in God. Notwithstanding, “ But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings”… implies an accurate application of the pr...

  ” Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You .“ Psalms‬ ‭143‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Everyone knows that healthy and productive relationships are built on the pillar of trust. Whenever trust wears off in any relationship, there is almost nothing left on the workbench that is worth salvaging. And when the psalmist approached the Lord with the prayer “ Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning ”, he was solemnly approaching the presence of the Lord with deep understanding of His position as a trusted Testator. This mindset presupposes a sad reflection of his disappointing experiences with other relationships in the world. Captured vividly elsewhere, ” From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalms‬ ‭61‬:‭2‬). Outside the Rock of Ages are twisted testators, whose promises are unreliable and self-...