Heralds Digest

  “ How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah” Psalms 84 : 1 , 4 NKJV Before the depravity of sin, the only and satisfactory inheritance of the human race is an intimate relationship with God. And while man struggles with sin and God’s plan of redemption, the only reliable measure of satisfaction with God’s inheritance is still the establishment of right relationship with God. Of course, there is no resting place in human pursuit of material riches, worldly positions, and social status. The litmus test for a wrong relationship with these achievements is the lack of satisfaction within the hearts of their bearers. And like Martin Luther discovered, right relationship with God, which leads to right relationships with others, is a gift made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Little wonder in Apostle Paul’s reference to this amazing inheritance, “ Through Him we have r...

  “ The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness. The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.” Proverbs 16 : 31 , 33 NKJV While everyone knows that decision determines destiny, the lap of life’s decision making is ruled by complex phenomena like experience, exposures, and externalities. It implies that even the multitude of silver-haired heads of counsels do not guarantee safety, if they are not completely influenced by the spirit of grace and righteousness. Unfortunately, the lap of many counsellors and advisers in our world is influenced by self-interest, and powered by position-seeking and prosperity-grabbing…alluding to the reasons why their words of counsel bring deaths instead of life. And rather than relying on uncertain wisdom from the lap’s lot, the righteous often ply on the meek way and will always take every decision from the Lord. While casting the lap’s lot is synonymous to taking risk, the Lord’s ...

  “ Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard .’” II Kings 19 : 19 - 20 NKJV Since the advent of the depravity of sin, the redemption plan of God has been focussed on healing the consequent leaving of human fellowship with God. Even after the final sacrifice for the redemption of man and the receipt of the saving grace by the redeemed is effected, a change from leaving to cleaving hasn’t really experienced the total freedom from distraction. Therefore, prayer and intercession is one of heaven’s provisions for the believers’ experience of a clean cleave. For example, in king Hezekiah’s prayer and intercession to God on behalf of  the nation Isreal, he essentially prayed for the promotion of the people’s c...

  “ For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’” Acts 27 : 23 - 24 NKJV Life’s experiences and its challenges can be likened to a voyage in a ship on a stormy sea. When Apostle Paul found himself among the company of 276 travellers in a troubled ship, everyone had lost hope of survival until the appearance of the presence of God to Paul. It turned out that no life was lost because of the presence of God, despite the loss of properties, time, and even the ship. The message ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar ‘ was a reminder of the divine mission behind Paul’s conviction to go to Jerusalem in the first place. It implies that storms, danger, and loss of property can threaten the believer’s ship, but the mission will still be accomplished, as long as the company of the Saviour is kept in th...

  “ So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. ” II Kings 17 : 41 NKJV The difference between religion and relationship is simply the difference between fearful fellowship and friendly fellowship. Fearful fellowship is focussed on making demands and avoiding violation of regulations on the basis of vacating the consequences of non-compliance. Like the prevailing experiences in our nations today, immigrants and nationals from many different nations to Samaria were forced to adopt the Jewish religion only on the basis of fearful fellowship. Little wonder, they were not interested in listening to God nor getting passionate about the adoption of friendly fellowship. Whereas, God is always more interested in a friendly fellowship with His children, by the expression of their affection, love, and the entertainment of interest. When the scripture atteste...

  ““ Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance .” Acts 26 : 19 - 20 NKJV Disobedience is not necessarily an off duty disposition. Most times, disobedience demands the highest level of calling, commitment, and consecration. So, when Apostle Paul said “ I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” , it implies anyone can be dutifully disobedient to the heavenly vision. Unfortunately, this dutiful disobedience will attract the highest level of disappointment on the final day of reckoning. Those who pursued the life of the flesh and earthly vision are outrightly and defiantly disobedient to the commandments of the Lord. These people are obviously aliens and may not be disappointed knowing their fate on the day of judgment. But to be dutifully disobedient, God fo...

  “ Moreover they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully.” II Kings 12 : 15 NKJV While the ministers are expected custodian of faith, the masons carry filth. Yet, the masons here or the artisans, the carpenters and builders are found worthy ambassadors of faith, in spite of their filthy engagements, challenges, and workloads. Whereas, the priests or ministers in the temple, who were earlier entrusted with the job, were found to fail the accountability test. One of the major lessons is that filth offers the manifestation of a good work ethics and faith, which mostly find relevance in stressful environments. Figuratively, the atmosphere with problems and the challenges of life is always the platform for the manifestation of integrity, honesty, and faith in God. The testimony of faith fullness often comes with several tests from filth fullness. Invariably, the filth fullness around our work ...