Heralds Digest

  ” To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom. The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth. “ Proverbs 10:23, 30 NKJV Righteousness is not the same as self-righteousness, but right relationships without an aorta of reproach. Even Moses, adjudged by the Almighty as the meekest of all men, once failed to believe God’s declaration on the possibility of a right relationship before the righteous God and a wicked man. Therefore, when the scriptures say “ The righteous will never be removed ”, a wise man with consistent grace against the wicked’s traps into unrighteousness is focussed. Even when he is unjustifiably removed before men, he only takes the responsibility of his right relationships personal. And from the unfortunate experience of Moses’s disobedience through ANGER or wrong relationship, believers can learn (1) Ask God for His understanding of the source of the people’s provocation, unbelief, and rejection; (2...

  ” For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.“ Joshua ­8:6-­7 NKJV In spite of a personal struggle for the relevance of a Yoruba  adage, paraphrased as “Whoever has witnessed the striking of Shango’s thunder bolt does not corroborate the story of Oba koso (meaning ‘the king doesn’t hang’ )”, the psychology of the assurances from both Israel and Ai going into this instance of battle is clear. From Israel’s perspective, the psychology was based on the Almighty assurance; while that of Ai was merely based on an artificial assurance, evidenced by their previous conquest of Israel. Obviously, Joshua played along the psychology of artificial assurance in the king of Ai without a doubt in the Almighty assurance: “ for the Lord your God will deli...

  ” And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him .“ Luke ­22:41-43 NKJV Salvation from stagnation, failures, and disappointment in life is not mostly by the outward movement of physical structure, material resources, and the manipulation of our sleeping strength or self will. There can be evidence of these movements without true motion. The surrendering of Jesus Christ to the power of darkness was earlier perceived by His sleeping disciples as weakness. But the salvation of the world from the bondage of sin and satanic manipulations through this sacrifice of Jesus is the true motion. Even the strong-willed and self-sufficient Peter ended up denying Jesus thrice, until Jesus looked upon him with His saving strength. Likewise, when we look unto Jesus and He looks upon us in...

  ”“ Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me .”“ Psalms 50:5, 15 ­NKJV While God’s saints are bought and brought into a covenant relationship with Him by the sacrifice of Christ, the redeemed of the Lord are called to gather by a lifestyle of personal, holy, and acceptable sacrifice unto God. The first gathering is the redemption of sinners from sin slavery into the Lord’s marvelous light; while the second gathering is the collection of saints. “ Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice “ implies the possibility of saints leaving for themselves; or simply not offering acceptable sacrifice before the Lord. Saints gathering is a glory gathering; it is the total sacrifice of self for the propagation of the glory of God. Of course, those who are dedicated to saints’ gathering are usually not perturbed by the  c...

  ” This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go .”“ Joshua ­1:­8-­9 NKJV Sometimes, people struggle with the sense of success aspirations through a daily study of words of the Lord day and night. It is because the scriptures are the reliable source of wise words; outside lies discouragements or weigh words. Unfortunately, we are aptly surrounded by a system of people, methods, and policies breathing out weigh words. When one is getting excited with pockets of inspiration and encouraging incidents, the enemy or his agents understand how to serve a dosage of weigh words, just sufficient to cause destabilization and disorientation. Therefore, e...

  ” Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.” “ Deuteronomy 33:1, 29 NKJV While it is true that the grave gate ends man’s activities on earth, it also provides a taste of eternal satisfaction or otherwise awaiting the departed soul. No doubt, ignorance of, or unbelief on, the power of the grave gate is responsible for reckless lifestyles of many people on earth. And by carelessness, the ignorance of the power of the grave gate in unbelievers can easily rob doubt on those who do believe in the power of the grave gate. Even though Moses almost slipped on carelessness, the story from his grave gate revealed the superiority of the power of grace gate over the power of the grave gate. And by his introduction at the grave ...

  ” Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:“ ”But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?“ Luke 20:21, 23 NKJV If knowing is synonymous to doing, the philosophers in our world would have been idolized as gods. But like the Teacher of the law who was used to craftily indict Jesus, knowing is very far from doing. Jesus disapproved of discretionary doings of God’s words and commandments; and would have nothing to do with hypocritical disposition. Even today, an honest heart should be deeply burdened by the words of public leaders, pastors, and regulators who have the in-depth knowledge of administration and the interpretation of the rules of law, procedures, and regulations; but their charisma is mostly defiled by their characters.  Whereas, human charisma is easily brushed up by facts and knowledge; our character is sharpened by an a...