Heralds Digest

  “ Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God !” Psalms 68 : 34 - 35 NKJV As the world grapples with the current relativity in the concept of super power, the reality of endless wars among nations in these last days is dawning on everyone. Notwithstanding, human, political, financial power and physical strength remain a recurrence decimal in how people establish and manage relationships. Little wonder, everyone with a relative measure of superior power is tempted to lord his relevance over  fellow. And unfortunately, the response to the world’s abuse of power is always destructive, including covetousness, idolatry, wickedness, and evil.  Whereas, the scriptures admonished believers to “ Ascribe strength to God” . Why, for Israel? God is the only custodian of an ancient awesomeness above the...

  “ But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses. ” Psalms 68 : 21 NKJV In God’s address to the Devil after the fall of man, and by reference to what the Seed of the woman will do, He said “ He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel’ ( Genesis 3 : 15 ). Apparently, Jesus was appointed as the kingdom’s Head Hunter - bruising the head of the enemy and blessing the heads of those who would accept the call of salvation from trespassing. Unfortunately, the wicked and those who scorn the call of God unto repentance have become the enemies of God. It is better that no one turns out as God’s enemies, for God will “ wound the head of His enemies” speaks of the Almighty’s inescapable judgment over sins and unrighteousness. “ May we not become God’s enemies ”. Whereas, the head hunting exercise of God is a call to the service of soul-winning. And all of Christ’s wise servants are recruited to the service; turnin...

  “ Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe .” I Samuel 24 : 5 NKJV One of the blessings of salvation and encounter by the grace of God is the leading by the Spirit of God. To those who would accept the invitation to come to His discipleship class, Jesus says “ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light ”” ( Matthew 11 : 29 - 30 ). The burden from the system of this world speaks the language of revenge and wickedness; and David had a thousand and one reasons to operate under the influence of this burden. He actually did, but the blessed burden immediately arrested him: “ Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe” . The moment believers accept to take the yoke of learning, living, and leaning on the words of the Lord for their daily guidance, they become the blessed liab...

  “ 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...