Heralds Digest

  “ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. ” Psalms 92 : 12 - 15 NKJV In our world filled with constant insecurity, instability, and inequality, freshness is almost impossible. It is usually acceptable to accommodate mood swings, emotional disturbances, and some level of character flaws from anyone; because, they say, change is usually a constant phenomenon in life. But then, when the scriptures say “ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon ”, it reveals the secret of not just freshness; but a floushing freshness . The fleshness that comes from a consistent and intentional plugging of the heart of man into the wealth of God’s spiritual r...

  ““ Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him .” Psalms 91 : 14 - 15 NKJV The difference between David and Solomon is synonymous to the comparison between triumphant troubles and troubling trophies. Not many people can escape the passivism in troubles and the consequences of its distraction from the reality of God’s presence. Instead of setting our love in God as the reality of dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, we are readily distracted by setting our hate on troubles and their agents. Whereas, the sincere qualification of the troubles before those who love the Lord and set their affections on Him is the dominant presence of God. Unfortunately, those who readily fall for the passivism of troubles do often choose to play down the divine promises “ I will deliver him ”, “ I will set...

  “ But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men .” I Corinthians 1 : 23 - 25 NKJV The only thing that singled out true ministers of the gospel is not the superiority of their intelligence, material possessions, and public acceptance; true ministers are known only by their possession of God’s power. More often than not, God will have to call out His ministers through the channels that guarantee the trimming of all references to these human power and wisdom. Even at that, pride does often creep in with its damnable consequences. For example, even after the divine conduct of David through the wilderness experiences to the throne for a demonstration of the pure power of God in the kingdom of Israel, the scriptures says at one point that “ Now Sa...

  “ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ” I Corinthians 1 : 10 NKJV From time immemorial, the waiting period for the translation of vision to mission has been detrimental to people without faith in God. Material mindedness has always taken the comfortable driving seat in almost all of human affairs. Even the charismatic affairs of the church at Corinth wasn’t spared by the driving force of materialism or the carnal response to gifting. The heart of man, opinion, and principles of operations are easily slain and manipulated by the offers or promises of gifts, gratification and generosity. Unfortunately, this satanic strategy has been potently deplored right from the garden of Eden; and it is still responsible for sowing the seeds of discouragement and divisions in the family, fellowship,...

  “ Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands .” Psalms 90 : 16 - 17 NKJV When Ken Costa wrote in his book ‘God at Work’ that ‘If the Christian faith is not relevant at the workplace, it is not relevant at all’ , he alluded to the reality that almost 70% of lifeline is a work line. Unfortunately, those who advocate the separation of faith from the workplace have only succeeded in deceiving believers in Christ Jesus, the only true source of salvation from sin. Our liberal advocacy today has been twisted as tool against Christianity and the promotion of evil, wickedness, and unrighteousness. Even preachers of the gospel messages on Sundays are now often being hired during the weekdays to promote rivalry, bitterness, and envy in our workplaces. Whereas, believers’ wonderful works at our workplaces could have been strictly...

  “ Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God .” Psalms 90 : 1 - 2 NKJV Come to think of it, God is the only One out of this life’s possessions whose powerful presence doesn’t intoxicate. Power corrupts. Prosperity inflates. Popularity deceives. But the more of God in any man’s life, the more gracious and glorious he becomes. We probably have no one more qualified to share his thoughts on the subject of the powerful presence of God than Moses, the man of God and the acclaimed meekest of all men. In just a little recess away from the presence of God, he forfeited the privilege of entering in the land of promise. And like Adam and Eve lost the sweet fellowship with the Lord at the garden of Eden in the beginning, even the redeemed of the Lord are often tempted to walk away from this sweet fellowship into more fame, more fashion,...

  “ For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ” Romans 15 : 3 , 13 NKJV Without genuine faith and sincere love, hope is bound to be self-serving  and resentful with disappointments. Everyone can use the helpful hope of Jesus Christ, while dealing with the realities of life. Rather than walking away by our expectations from relationships, we can focus on discovering the divine purpose in satisfying the expectations of others. Whenever any believer is privileged to find the divine purpose for his existence and assignment in relationships, it becomes engrossed with the realities of being used of God as His battle axe and weapon of wars. Invariably, while helpful hope is focused on the needs of others, hurtful hope is only obsessed by the satisfaction of personal needs. Sin...