Heralds Digest

  “I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments. I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.” Psalms 119 : 60 , 63 NKJV If collaboration and companionship do readily prioritize obedience to the pure precepts of the Lord above material and physical prosperity, there would be no reason for concern. But no, the weapons of believer’s warfare have never been carnal for those who are committed to keeping the divine commandments and the pure precepts. It hasn’t been enough to just know these commandments and precepts. The knowledge of the pure precepts must be accomplished by personal responsibility towards sincere obedience. For the psalmist, the personal responsibility says “ I made haste, and did not delay ”. Obedience to the pure precepts requires the following weapons of believers warfare: (1) Wisdom of God - Proverbs 1:7, (2) Examination by the Spirit - 2  Corinthians 13:5, (3) Attentiveness to Divine Revelation - Habakkuk 2:19-20, ...

  “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” I Timothy 2 : 8 NKJV As disappointment upon the words of men breeds wrath, discouragement about the words of God encourages doubting. Since everyone can attest to the fact that too much emphasis and expectations upon the words of men, like politicians, principals and principalities, are the primary sources of corruption, confrontation, and calamities in our homes and societies, we can understand why a little less emphasis and expectations from the words of men is desirable in life. Likewise, a little less esteem of God’s words and faithlessness, through the promotion of human partnership, productivity, and proficiency, withdraw our hope in the supernatural manifestation of God’s power. This is the reason why a ceaseless lifestyle of prayer and fellowship with God represents every life’s decent desire; and the lifting up of holy hands in reference to a sincere satisfaction by th...

  “ Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord— Your salvation according to Your word. So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.” Psalms 119 : 41 - 42 NKJV Those who assess breakthrough and success on the basis of the superiority of skills and the sophistication of strategies have always queried the relevance of divinely recommended scriptural meditation. Whereas, “ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1 : 8 )” remains the divine revelation of the winning way. The embodiment of all superiority of skills and the sophistication of strategies are within the ambience of our sovereign God; and He reveals the maneuvering of these resources to those who put their confidence only in divine revelation. Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord ar...

  “ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. ” II Thessalonians 3 : 16 NKJV Truth be told, the pursuit of righteousness is simply and straightforwardly the following of the right pathway, not necessarily the safe, the polite, and the popular pathway. Little wonder Martin Luther King once said, ‘On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “ Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “ Is it polite?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “ Is it popular? ” But Conscience asks the question, “ Is it right? ”’. Unfortunately, finding the right pathway is not up to philosophers, psychologists, and politicians in our world, to whom there is no such thing as absolute truth. Whereas, the pursuit of the right pathway is the following of the One who says “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me ( John 14 : 6 )”. Jesus is the only Giver of peace; He gives grace, guidance, and ...

  “ For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the Lord— For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all .” Jeremiah 31 : 11 - 12 NKJV The redemption story is not a mere story to be told; but it is actually an experience to be relished. Those who have no personal experience of the ransomed stepping in of our Saviour against the influences and servitude of forces stronger than their own ingenuity and proficiency will always struggle with backsliding. Actually, the power of temptation, setup for all unrighteous influences, social and political peer-pressure, and carnal compromises have never been ordinary. They constitute stronger spiritual forces that have always kept Israel and Judah in a backsliding ring. Whereas, genuine New Testament exp...

  “ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ” Jeremiah 29 : 11 NKJV Job placement, professional mobility and migration decisions are mostly driven by empirical metrics, like standards of living, economic indices, employment rates, mortality rates, etc. Unfortunately, these empirical thoughts are usually at variance with divine thoughts, leading godly people into the realm of walking away from productive purposes, fruitful future, and an honest hope. While the best of human thoughts are based on myopic assessment of the historical evidence, prevailing circumstances and challenges, God’s futuristic model is based on His omniscient casting of triumphant thoughts and reliable revelations. When prophet Jeremiah’s unpopular revelation of God’s triumphant thoughts was borne out about Israel and Judah’s 70 years captivity in Babylon, it is understandable why many people fell for the sensible but t...

  “ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ ” I Thessalonians 5 : 8 - 9 NKJV Just as light of the day is meant to uncover darkness of the night, peace is made for wrath. And as God has made the distinction between day and night, the redeemed of the Lord are called out of darkness to manifest the glorious light of the day, through faith, love, peace, and kindness. Unfortunately, the breastplate of faith and love is not a fancy regalia for beauty contests; but it is meant for a formidable refuge against the power of darkness, deceit, and discouragement. Like for prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament and apostle Paul in the New Testament, every obedient servant of the Lord has had his own share of the unpleasant bread of affliction, oppression and persecution, while serving on the peace platform. Therefore, t...