Heralds Digest

  “ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:­11-12 NKJV Those who regularly patronize ‘No Name ’ brands have sometimes wondered why good quality products are let go without branding. Most times, branding is majorly concerned about the competition and the selling of the brand name without particular emphasis on the quality of the products. Likewise, it is understandable why the branding of new ideas, visions, and initiatives sometimes create ugly competition, confrontation, and conspiracies. But when Jesus said “ While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name ”, he alluded to the potent power of unity by branding in the name of the Lo...

  “ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ” John ­16:13-14 ­NKJV While Jesus was holding brief for the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, we know that Jesus is the truth personified. Also, it is necessary to note that the most important assignment of the hour was His crucifixion, and it was time for Him to leave the disciples for the consummation of the redemption plan. Notwithstanding, the Helper (Holy Spirit) remains the perfect Connector and Comforter of all believers with the true testimony: the name of Jesus holds all power, all authority, and all wisdom. Everyone who truly knows the name has been triumphant in the battles of life. Even in the Old Testament, it is incredible to underscore how David connected with the true testimony about t...

  “ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me .” John ­15:­4 ­NKJV We do not really need this world’s abusive agility to face the giants and be truly fruitful. For those who have found the saving grace from the world’s rottenness, Jesus says ‘Abide in Me, and I in you ’ is just enough. Unlike how David knew that the abiding ability imposed by his relationship with the living God was just sufficient to face his giant Goliath, many believers are always obsessed with their abusive agility,  to look for help where there is none. Unfortunately, fruitfulness through the abusive agility, secret societies, human manipulation, political maneuvering, and social deceit is tantamount to trading the true prosperity for the troublesome panda. Whereas, God is not interested in human agility to save and deliver from their giants of oppression; His ability to save and deliver merely depends on o...

  “ So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” 1 Samuel 15:17 NKJV Anyone who understands king Saul knows that he was a goal getter. And the life ambitions of goal getters are simply finishing well, irrespective of how they start. Unfortunately, Saul failed to finish well because of misalignment between his goal and that of God. But how is “ When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? ” anything to do with goal getting? Being little in one’s eyes implies prioritizing God’s goal, instead of promoting personal ambitions. Truthfully, it is earlier to maintain being little in one’s eyes when personal achievements and accomplishments are out of the way. And while king Saul cannot keep these distractions out of the way, Saul of Tarsus did quite well with preventing personal ambitions from invading the space of God’s goal. Little wonder the late...

  “ So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. ” John 13:31-32 NKJV There is always a good feeling and accomplishment when a god-given assignment is completed in a god-honoured approach. Jesus started His earthly ministry by prayer and fellowship with God; and by the acknowledgment “ Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him “, He had no doubt God has been glorified by His obedience and attention to details. Unlike Jesus, Saul started well; but ended foolishly: “ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever ”. 1 Samuel 13:­13)” Unfortunately, in pursuit of God’s vision and assignment in life and ministry, we are all easily tempted to struggle with the shar...

  “ Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.” So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.”   ­I Samuel 10:22-23 NKJV The portion from the Lord is always better than the people portion because it is double: double promotion (human intelligence plus divine inspiration), double prosperity (human enrichment plus divine prosperity), and double power (human strength plus divine empowerment). When Saul was little and uninfluenced by the people, the Lord sought him out and promoted him to relevance and the general acceptance of the people. Whenever we have to struggle for the people’s acceptance and get engaged in political maneuvering, we will have to settle for just the people’s portion with its consistent and annoying servitude or compromise. Whereas, it is always better to hide our potenti...

  “ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them .” I Samuel 8:7 NKJV When Sir Winston Churchill said ‘ Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time’, theocracy wasn’t spared the rot. The struggle has always been the thorough management of the decadence in human governance. In any of the different forms of government, it is possible for God to influence governance or the mechanism for deciding state policies and the means by which those policies are enforced. Even today, man is quick to engage in the blame game of shifting faults around for the mess in his home, workplaces, and institutions. Whereas, the Lord is saying “ My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways ” (Proverbs 23:26). Whenever any believer delights himself in the Lord, especially amidst the negl...