Heralds Digest

  “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.” Proverbs 31 : 4 - 5 NKJV Taking the scriptural admonition symbolically, believers’ homes, workplace, social, institutional, and political affairs are governed by king Lemuel with the privileged access to the use of pure power. Unfortunately, with the unrestricted influence of intoxication, the human hearts painfully prefer absolute power to pure power. With the enfolding provocation of the menace of a criminal justice system in almost all human administrative systems, institutions and state apparatus, no one can be in doubt about the captive power of intoxication in the quest for absolute power in life and ministry. Notwithstanding, the heart of man is created to engage in a constant, unceasing fellowship with God, its Maker. Anyone who fails or undermines the inspiration from the Lord on a reg...

  “ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? ” Ezra 7 : 23 NKJV Just as reflection on human drive is motivated by the pursuit of excellence, promotional engagement, and business accomplishments, there is no doubt the human hearts desire winsome works. The only problem being the pursuit from wrong places for motivation and rewards of human engagement. If an earthly king of kings Artaxerxes could acknowledge the commandment of the God of Heaven as the main drive for winsome works, what is the reasonable basis for hearts’ willful and wicked engagements in our world. It is always “ whatever is commanded by the God of heaven ” or whatever is motivated by self-centredness, sensuality, or satanic manipulation, even in the most seemingly appropriate work proposition. Thoughtfully, any king Artaxerxes can understand that while the human hearts are capa...

  “ The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You.” Psalms 145 : 9 - 10 NKJV The wholesomeness of God, His works, will, and ways is a reserved attribute of His deity. Unfortunately, due to human limitations and faithlessness, we seldomly acknowledge God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience in our relationships with elements in our world. Anything and anyone in our relationship can or is bound to exhibit failures and disappointment; but none of these deficiencies can be attributed to God. God’s assignments represent the wholesomeness of His works; His revelations represent the wholesomeness of His words; and His counsels represent the wholesomeness of His will. And just as the scripture, the spirit, and the saints of old revealed the reliability of the deity of Jesus Christ, believers today can rely absolutely on the wholesomeness of His works in their life, career, and minis...

  “ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned .” Revelation 11 : 16 - 17 NKJV As kingdoms are subject to the dominion of kings, the welfare of nations and states operate under the influence of kings and within their tenured reigns. Unfortunately, not many kings understand the privilege of running their reigns in righteousness, until the privileges are ruined. Since God is the ultimate King over all the earth, His reign is always everlasting. Whereas, the rented reign of all the kings of the earth is subject to the judgement of God.  Likewise, believers need to always know and be reminded that our times, talents, and treasures are rented opportunities and privileges for the promotion of God’s purposes and agenda. We must all give account to the reigning King of Kings an...

  “ But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy” Ezra 3 : 12 NKJV Loudness and living are two adjectives that can reasonably qualify the sacrifices of Levites of the Lord, albeit with apparent misunderstanding of the motives and undertones. The loudness of the Levites here, after the successful laying of the replaced foundation for the temple in Jerusalem, was unanimously treated with uniform quality when assessed from without. Whereas, from the distinctive assessment within, “ old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes ”. Likewise today, by the mercies of God, believers in Christ are enjoined “ that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service ” (Romans 12 : 1 ). U...

  “ Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood— Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! ” Psalms 144 : 11 , 15 NKJV Make no mistakes, the activities of foreigners in any home affairs, society, and system are the initiation and propagation of confusion, rather than the projected care. Unfortunately, foreigners often appear in life and ministry with an undeniable business proposition, enticing invitations to prosperity, promotion, and productivity. For example, the foreigner visited Esau of old in his famished state with the offer of food at the expense of birthright. He never recovered from the loss until today. And when the psalmist prayed “ Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners ”, he sincerely needed a recused refuge from the deadly activities of foreigners. The recused refuge from the Lord is not a reformation theatre or ...

  “ Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?” Psalms 144 : 3 NKJV Out of curiosity on what can be informed as ‘The Madness’ in Stephen Belber’s recent Netflix TV series, it is discovered that the conspiracy series debuted the mindlessness in all merchants of evil. In spite of several extensions of mercy towards confession to the villains, the madness wears extensive complications until the offer of mercy expires. And in apparent comparison of the plight of the media pundit Muncie Daniels in the madness theatre to the psalmist, the mindful Master is pictured by “ Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? ”. Obviously, the conspiracy of evil and wickedness that represents the madness in our world is driven by the devil, the mindless master. Notwithstanding, Jesus Christ remains the mindful Master with mercy for all who are victims of the mindless master; but the mercy...