Heralds Digest

  “ Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.”   Proverbs 13:12, 19 NKJV Sick hearts have something in common. They are depressive, discouraged, and distracted away from delightful adventures. When the heart of Saul became sick, even as the king with all privileges, position, and power, he lost the appetite for good governance, showing delight in the chasing of shadows and the pursuit of evil. Irrespective of human position and privileges, a sick heart is a reflection of hopelessness. When it was the turn of the disciple of Christ, like Peter, to fall into the trenches of hopelessness, he became demoralized and opting for the denial of his friendship with Jesus. Notwithstanding, the scriptures say “ But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life ”. This must be the desire to contribute, collaborate, and concentrate into something good,...

  “ 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...