Heralds Digest

  ” In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.“ Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that one of the detours on the highway of pain and disappointment is depression and death. Yet, distress has often inspired intimate fellowship with God for some people, who have embraced their call into the ministry of leadership with divine purpose. For example, it appears that the distress of David was another version of his anointing into the leadership as the king of Israel. While it may appear to many others as a detour into bewilderment, bitterness, and betrayal, David said ” In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears” . It is in this special detour that David got the graphic understanding of God as the Deliverer, Rock, Fortress, Strength, and Stronghold. When believers are invited int...

  ” So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him .“ ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭32‬-‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ As we await the commencement of another GCK (Global Crusade with Kumuyi), it is not strange that not many people are prepared for the right response to “ What do you want Me to do for you?” . Just like the multitudes were instrumental to stopping the two blind men from approaching Jesus, people readily waste energies on mocking desperate seekers of divine manifestations to the problem of blindness. Meanwhile, we always all need divine illuminations to several problems of shortsightedness, misinterpretation, discouragement, and redundancy in our lives. Whereas, sincere seekers will take time to reflect on the right response to “ What do you want Me to do for you? ”, in order to enhance the grac...

  ” Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings” Psalms‬ ‭17‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In a world ridden by constant confrontations, surrounded souls doesn’t seem to have any worthwhile engagement away from the strife. But in the shadow of God’s wings and being the apple of His eye, every surrounded, but privileged, soul can sincerely go to sleep. Here, there are lots for the secured souls to learn about the mercy, lovingkindness, and fellowship with God that cannot be liquidated by the activities of wickedness. Particularly, the benefit of abiding as the apple of God’s eye is the extension of God’s love to enemies of all secured souls. Unfortunately, while many villains have found freedom and forgiveness for their sins when they surrender to the Lord, some disobedient and ignorant folks have been crushed fatally by the wrath of God. ...

  ” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. “ ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In response to the young man’s enquiry about the qualifications for the kingdom of heaven, Jesus responded with the need to keep the second part of the ten (10) commandments because that’s the popular creed for human morality. And like many religious folks, the young man was confident of his pass mark with evidence of great possessions. It implies that human prosperity and greatness in this world are parts of God’s delights for humanity; but great possessions are possible without a guarantee of a perfect possession. Unfortunately, the pursuit of God, being the focus of the first part of the ten (10) commandments, is not always attractive to the flesh; but it is the recommended perfect possession in ...

  ” Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. “ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Funnily, the psalmist’s prayer on the works of men agrees with the concept of slip irreversibility. It is the Second Law of Thermodynamics that accounts for the inevitable destruction of energy with every production of work from any system. Invariably, the human works are filled with slip steps, unless saved by the words of God, i.e., the word of His lips. Unfortunately, we are often deceived by the promotion of our carnal intelligence, technological advances, social connectivity, moral uprightness, and political affiliations. Even righteous Job had to finally bow to his plausible bends on slip steps, when he cried ” Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’? “ (Job‬ ‭34‬:‭32‬). Whereas, all the works and words of men in apparent disagreement to divin...

  ” O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance .“ Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The experience of Job with suffering shows that life’s inheritance cannot be sustained by earthly possessions and human relationships. Those who kept earthly inheritance on the front burner of their purpose for living have always lost out at the end. Whereas, it is amazing that while Job lost all his earthly inheritance, he kept his integrity and uprightness with God. This is because he found a perfect portion in his relationship with God. However, the scripture accounts that this perfect portion only comes with gracious endurance and perseverance: ” Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful ” (James‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬). While earthly properties can be confiscated; earthly r...

  ” Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. “ Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If only we are always privileged to see the bigger picture of actions and inaction around us, our perspective to the burning question ‘Why ?’ will be consistently attractive. Using the ordeals of Joseph in the hands of his brothers as reference, the greater good was the fulfillment of God’s revelation to Abraham about the 400 years sojourn or preservation of the Israelites in the land of Egypt. Whereas, the minute details embodied the several misfortunes of Joseph, the mismanagement of his brothers, and the misery of Israel, among other details. Through these details, all these characters expressed tremendous transformation of character, development of professionalism, and submission to divine counsel; because Joseph took the lead to l...