Heralds Digest

  “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.” Nehemiah 2 : 18 NKJV Human activities, engagements, and relationships are all governed by deals, albeit with varying understanding of the terms and conditions. Unfortunately, not many people understand that all of human deals are subservient to divine deal, until their violations of the heavenly deals attract retribution, damnation, and the final declaration “ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”” (Revelation 16 : 17 ). It implies that while all human deals are decorative, life’s engagement on the divine deal is the only ‘done deal ’ for commendation or condemnation. Even while Nehemiah was fully engaged in Shushan the citadel palace as the king’s cupbearer, he r...

  “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God” Psalms 146 : 5 NKJV Naturally, hope while in a state of sickness is healing. The poor are hopeful in the prosperity of their material status; and the wrongfully oppressed or imprisoned person will embrace freedom. Unfortunately, this outcome-based hope is not usually helpful. If not even hurtful, helpless hope keeps its believers under the caprices of human manipulation and false security. While deeply meditating on the referenced helpful hope by the psalmist, it is instructive to get inspired by the hallowed hope projected in Ezra’s prayer to God for the restoration of Israel to the will of God. Israel had fallen into the sin of marriages with mixed multitudes against the will of God, and the judgement of God was looming. But after Ezra’s submission to hallowed hope in the sacred place of prayer and supplication to God, “ …Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and ...

  “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...