Heralds Digest

  ” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The response of Jesus to those who expected the cancellation of His preaching engagement for family relationships does not teach disobedience to parents. Rather, the statement teaches the combined sensitivity to the words of God and sincerity in doing His commandments as the guideline for enforcing right relationships out of all believers’ lifestyles and engagements. This sacred guideline is the antidote to the fear of man; and its consequent call to unrighteousness and sin. The fear of man brings torment, but the fear of God cancels out the fear of man. Unfortunately, when the hearts of men are plagued by the fear of man, they cannot hear the word of God; needless to think of doing it. Whereas, every believer in God is expected to extend his intimate relationship with God to all his work, family, and social relationships, including the isolation o...

  ” Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. ” Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Humility does not only enhance the art of asking God, it does also improve the skill of receiving from God. The combined art of asking and receiving builds on believers’ careful attention to the word of God. In the parable of the Sower, we learnt that God is always generous with the spreading of His words to all categories of hearts, including wayside, stony, thorny, and humble hearts. Likewise, in all kinds of human relationships, the word of God often struggles with diverse interests in association with the society, community of friends, work associates, and family members. Unfortunately, only those who place the highest premium and attention to the word of God can allow this word to bring forth the desirable fruits. Right from the beginning of creation, words from all these conflicting sources hav...

  ”I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.“ Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬, ‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Considering the fact that wisdom is personified here, it is easy to ask the question ‘Is wisdom God?’. Wisdom comes from God and not God. Notwithstanding, true wisdom does not generate wealth; but rather, it inherits wealth. While worldly wisdom prides itself in the generation of wealth through the use of material knowledge and human networking, this true and wealthy wisdom prides itself in spiritual knowledge, divine inspiration and discretion. Above the privileges endowed by our academic, political, and professional pursuits, it is expedient for every man with interest in the unliquidated wealth to desire superior and intimate relationship with God. Rather than pursuing wealth, which always comes with the undeniable invitation to wickedness, sin, and all forms of unrighteousness, the...

  ” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me .”“ Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If there is one thing that is profound with troubles and the challenges of life, it is the asking of difficult questions. Where is God in all of these? Why did God allow this thing to happen to me? Did God really care about my commitment to His service? A lot of people have backslidden and lost their faith or confidence in the Lord because of His supposed omission offence. And by using the experience of the offended John the Baptist, Jesus is apparently saying ‘We must focus on the commission calls to overcome the omission offences ”. The ultimate calls of God around believers are directed to the salvation of the whole world; and these calls are more important for individua...

  ” Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace “ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ “ Violence against the kingdom of heaven and the violent taking it by force ” is a scriptural reference to spiritual battle for God’s promises by kingdom citizens; and it is not applicable to their expected experiences with elements in the kingdom of this world. Kingdom citizens are supposed to be God's ambassadors with the genuine understanding of peace in our troubled and corrupt world. Because of their experiences of inner peace and salvation from corruption, the peace princes are sometimes subjected to the opposite of peaceful experience, including ridicule, roughness, and restiveness. And while the world knows how to smartly manipulate these realities with fake peace initiatives, unrighteousness, and political maneuvering, a peace Prince must be calm and collected by the grace of God. Unfortunately, sincere peace initiatives cannot be pursued on a barrel of gu...

  ” Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.“ ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In a period of austerity measures, it is readily easy to ignore calls from the needy and treat all attention as a nuisance. Yet the Lord says “ Give to everyone who asks of you!”. Can anyone give what he doesn’t have? Since the answer is ‘No !’, it implies believers always have something to give to the needy. Funnily, the supposedly poor believers have something to give to the rich people in their lives. The greatest gift in life is not the material things but the heart of compassion; and the compassionate heart flows generously at all times. “ Give to everyone who asks of you ” is not the same thing as “ Give to everyone what is asked of you” . Attention is always a gift, followed by the exchange of prayer support towards finding how the needs can be addressed together. Obviously, the...

  ” Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them .”“ Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The error of Moses at Kadesh teaches that one of the meek’s mess in life is the sticking to the wise way, especially in the annoying faces of wickedness from men. If the meekest man on earth could be provoked out of the wise way, I wonder what else can save anyone on the path to the promised land in this world. It is instructive to note that after the exposure of Moses and Aaron to this particular Israelites’ wicked way, ” Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them” ‭‭(Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭6‬). Unfortunately, a transient appearance of the glory of the Lord could not prevent the earlier influence of the Israelites’ provocation...