Heralds Digest

  “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God .” II Corinthians 1 : 3 - 4 NKJV Usually, human intervention to conflict will either breeds comfort or conspiracies. This is often because the best of comfort received from man has an element of self service. Even in the honest disposition of comfort as community service, there is always an expectation in the receipts of self recognition, appreciation, and recommendation. And because comprehensive comfort comes only from God, God would often rather train up His children through an atmosphere soaked with wilderness experiences for the first fruits of His comprehensive comfort. A trained-up beneficiary of the comprehensive comfort from God has been a successful distributor of gracious comfort at home and in the socie...

  “ Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand? ””  II Chronicles 25 : 14 - 15 NKJV The fall of king Amaziah after his rise and divine favour shows the evil side of success and achievements. Success and worldly achievements readily attract bad companies than retaining the good ones. For example, while Amaziah’s Dad had a good company in the chief priest Jehoiada, he was properly guided and guarded against evil and unrighteousness. But immediately the chief priest died, the waiting bad companies ceased the occasion to the destruction of his fruitful fellowship with God. Funny enough, king Amariah was prevented from bad ...

  “ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. ” I Corinthians 15 : 56 - 58 NKJV Fainting in the line of weary work is not an isolated phenomenon. Jesus Christ became extremely weary and fainting at the garden of Gethsemane. Particularly, the idea of going down on the highway of the cross and crucifixion as the sin bearer of the world has always worn the regalia of victory and celebration by the enemy; but the truth remains that both the cross and resurrection is the greatest victory in the history of the world. Although the death of Christ and His burial for three days slowed down or eroded the confidence of the disciples, they offered a calculated destruction of the power of sin and death over humanity. Likewise, when believers embr...

  “ You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. ” Psalms 102 : 13 NKJV ‘Testing! Testing! Testing!’ …is a familiar voice of the Master of Ceremony (MC) or confidence note that a waiting programme or event is about to start. By self-recognition of the MC, the anxieties of the waiting audience are always quieted. Likewise, the set time for the manifestation of God’s promises in the lives and affairs of His children is always a trust time. It is more a time for believers’ inspirational fellowship with the MC God; and an opportunity to develop confidence and faith in our unchanging, unstoppable, and unconquerable Master Changer (MC) of time, space, and events. Even in the closest and accurate revelation of God’s will, the human heart is mostly focused on selfish dreams and ambitions. But with the trust time, human perspective on the manifestation of God’s will is redesigned for optimal revelation of the glory of God. Therefore, ‘You ...

  “ For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars. ”” II Chronicles 16 : 9 NKJV The pitiable 5-year ending of the reign of king Asa in Judah, after a commendable 36-year absolute reliance on God, teaches that God is not interested in halfhearted loyalty. He had enjoyed rest from wars to the extent that he became war-freaked and extremely paranoid at any warfare activity. Whereas, wholehearted watchfulness is simply an absolute reliance on God. It doesn’t guarantee the cessation of hostilities and the manipulation of wicked elements. More often than not, God allows the uprising of some unpleasant activities of men to test and recalibrate believers’ absolute reliance on Himself. Intelligent watchfulness and carefulness are commendable human strategies against the activities of the enemies, but they must not be allowe...

  “ And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” ” II Chronicles 14 : 11 NKJV While the commanding evidence of peace is the absence of wars, conflicts and confrontations, the prevailing peace is rarely not the absence of these challenges. When Asa discovered the secret of prevailing peace during his reign in Judah, even the people of Israel and citizens of the neighbouring nations immigrated to Judah to enjoy this abiding peace - i.e. the presence of the Lord. And when Ethiopia challenged the status of peace in Judah, Asa cried unto the Lord his God for intervention; and the Lord answered by striking Ethiopia before Asa and Judah. Even at the moment when the enemies’ advances are escalated beyond personal control, the boundaries of the p...

  “ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding .” I Corinthians 14 : 14 - 15 NKJV Understanding in all of human relationships is fed by attentiveness. Therefore, it is no news that broken relationships are mostly influenced by the absence of attentive communication between parties. And it is logical for anyone to learn how to listen attentively, in addition to the advances in the leverage on speaking opportunities. Even in spiritual fellowship, a fruitful prayer session can never be left as a monologue. Unfortunately, the Corinthian church had cultivated the radical approach of speaking in tongues without fellowship with one another and God, turning the church of God into a spiritual gymnasium. Whereas, when everyone thrives always to engage God in a fruitful fellowship...