Heralds Digest

“ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. ” II Corinthians 11 : 13 - 15 NKJV There is something fundamentally attractive in the world of today’s music, sports, entertainment that is not scripturally strange. Satan readily transforms into an angel of light to attract his prey into a lifeless love with deception and destruction. For example, when YNW Melly thought up the chorus of " Murder on My Mind " during early 2016 based on his first incarceration at the age of 16, the lifeless disposition in his hip hop talent could have been a significant source of danger. Unfortunately,  after news broke of YNW Melly's murder charges on February 13, 2019, his hit " Murder on My Mind " garnere...

  “ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ ” II Corinthians 10 : 3 - 5 NKJV Like the great Welsh preacher, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, once said “ There is no grosser or greater misrepresentation of the Christian message than that which depicts it as offering a life of ease with no battle and struggle at all…sooner or later every believer discovers that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground ”. To engage in a playground strategy is to play with spiritual warfare, major in physical and diplomatic settlement of disputes, disagreements, and displeasure, and to exploit the protection offered by legal, administrative, and regulatory instruments whenever the diplomatic approaches fail. And whil...

  “ They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.” Psalms 106 : 13 - 15 NKJV It is not enough to define leanness as the opposite of generosity; it is also a gross demonstration of dissatisfaction, especially in the midst of abundance. The scriptures say after Israel failed God’s test on trust and fellowship in the wilderness, He gave them abundance in response to their quest with leanness and dissatisfaction. Little wonder why the rich, influential and the wealthy people on earth are plagued with unquenchable greed and gloat? Of course, money can only buy mansions, material properties, and affluence for the body; it cannot buy joy, love, and satisfaction for the soul. Whereas, even in the absence of this world’s material riches and wealth, the soul that is attracted to God’s rest and fellowship finds absolute satisfaction jus...

  “ The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. ” Psalms 105 : 40 NKJV Welcome to September, the month of supernatural satisfaction. Oh, this revelation was original to the people of Israel, the redeemed of the Lord from Egypt while they wandered in the wilderness; but they didn’t count it as a sustainable source of satisfaction. Even today, believers are still wired with a sense of self sufficiency - in our intelligence, administrative skills, social influences, and political sagacity. Unfortunately, the best of human provision and proficiency is not sustainable because of the laws of limitation and depreciation. Whereas, the Lord God is every believer’s Sun and Shield…“ The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly” ( Psalms 84 : 11 ). And to walk upright is simply being interpreted here as “ The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven ”. Therefo...

  “ Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it .” Proverbs 22 : 6 NKJV Just as a parent is the principal in a parent-child relationship, life’s projects and teams are executed with similar relationship setup. While the smart age in our present world is blessed with smart kids and mentees, the scriptural principle of progressive training and mentorship has been lost. Unfortunately, both the trainer and the trainees do not know the training curriculum in our current confused world. Whereas, “ Train up a child in the way he should go ” suggests the trainer’s understanding of ‘ where each specific trainee should go !’. And while these trainees (including children in our homes, students in our schools, and interns in our workplaces, etc) are getting smarter with their aggressive exposure to social media and peer pressure, the principals in homes, institutions, and workplaces are getting more and more confused about ascertaining who takes r...

  “ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me .”” Isaiah 6 : 8 NKJV While it is simply bad for any man to be used against God’s purpose and plan, it is not good enough for anyone to be used without the alignment of his personal will with the will of God. There is a significant difference in the following terms: (1) being used by God; (2) being used for God; and (3) being useful to God. To be used by God appears to imply the use of a utensil against its freewill. For example, Jonah was used by God to preach to the city of Nineveh against his self will. God is sovereign, and His purposes and plans are superior to man’s intentions and preferences. Therefore, anyone can be used by God, especially against the will of the utensil. For the part of being used for God, this is a pitiable release of services by the utensil, without being mindful of the perfect will of God. For example, the services of Isaiah b...

  “ We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses ” II Corinthians 6 : 3 - 4 NKJV Fruitfulness in ministry is the product of fellowship with the people and God, but the risk in a mixed ministry is always phenomenal. The church and all assemblies for believers’ social impacts are not expected to be a cathedral for saints. In fact, they are specially designed to be the congregation of saints with the afflicted, oppressed, inspired, intoxicated, abused, misused, disused, etc. If those who claimed to be the light of the world cannot shine out for those who are in darkness to see, then there is something wrong with the light luminance. Therefore, the major problem in ministry is not so much about the challenges with mixed ministry or the social decadence in our world; but rather the compromise with mixed ministers of the gospel. When Apostle Pau...