Heralds Digest

  “ And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety. You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life! ”” Job 11 : 18 - 20 NKJV Despite the out-of-context application of the exhortation of Zophar to Job, the sincerity of holy hope as the only source of believers’ security and rest in life is outstanding. Even while the horrible hope in human intelligence, deception and hypocrisy was wrongly suspected to be the anchor of Job’s resilience, the content of Zophar’s call for repentance remained sacred. And how many today can thereafter dare stand on “ For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease (Job 14 : 7 )” without a solid anchor on holiness and righteousness? Like Job, everyone needs the sincere release of the holy ...

  “ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. ”” Matthew 19 : 26 NKJV “ With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible ” implies impossibility is nothing with God and everything with man at the same time. Unfortunately, we struggle more with the concept that impossibility is nothing with God because we always fail to admit that impossibility is everything with us. Human desires, ambition, and admiration are greatly enhanced when absolutely submitted to divine counsel, guided by divine courage, and consumed by divine consecration. It is important to underscore that Christ’s exposition on the winning Will is a response to the disciples’ struggle with their personal will on the administration of personal affairs: “ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved? ””  (Matthew 19 : 25 ). For example, Job was forced to absolutely submit, be guided, ...

  “ Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip .” Psalms 17 : 4 - 5 NKJV Ideally, nobody wants slippery steps; but people can hardly escape the slippery pathways by the words of their lips. Little wonder why the scriptures posited that a fool with a sealed lip is considered wise. Not until Eliphaz the Temanite opened his buccal cavity to address the afflicted Job, the seven days of silence by the three friends will pass as the best comforting session and a commendable treatment for the oppressed in life. With words like “ Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? (Job 4 : 17 )”; what can really be considered as a slip, if the admonition is given within an appropriate context? Unfortunately, Eliphaz and his friends were rather motivated by ““ If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold hi...

  “ There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor .” Job 3 : 17 - 18 NKJV Without justification to the misconception of rest by advocates of suicide and euthanasia for pain and suffering management, Job actually contemplated the superiority and eternal perspective of rest to awakened the 7 days dumbness of his miserable friends. From the knowledge of hindsight, Job later realized that this real rest is found in a solemn fellowship with God; even before the onset of eternity. Just as today is designed to serve the weekly rest from the weeklong stress and pain, a sweet fellowship with God on a daily basis offers believers a consistent taste of real rest from anxiety, provocation, confusion, agitation, troubling of the wicked and weariness from the oppressors. Therefore, with the right perspective in focus, real pain and suffering in life actually facilitates the sweetness of tru...

  “ Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart ” Psalms 15 : 1 - 2 NKJV One of the greatest challenges against the truth is the misconceptions about the true gathering. Speakers of the truth are often called to adopt the forfeiture of the gathering of wealth, affluence, and the pleasures of this world; as the requirement for them to dwell in God’s holy hill and abide in His tabernacle. Notwithstanding, the misconception of the truth by those who prefer the physical gathering to abiding in God’s holy hill is the temporariness of these fake gatherings. For example, even after death, Jacob’s legacy on the power of transparent truth attracted ‘great gathering’ of Canaanites and the Egyptians; needless to underscore the triumph of his eternal joy and peace with God. Even when John the Baptist felt disappointed by his incarceration for speaking the truth, Jesus had this to ...

  “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding ” Proverbs 3 : 5 NKJV The reasons why trust in artificial intelligence (AI) is growing greater than confidence in human beings are not far-fetched. Even in a brotherly family and among brethren in the household of faith, people can hardly go to bed with their eyes closed on trust. Unfortunately, advances in AI-driven technologies, machine learning, and service robots have not also vacated the growing concerns over insecurity in cyberspace, social manipulations, and autonomous weapons through the breach of AI algorithms, etc. The truth remains that while God ordained advances in knowledge, science, and intelligence, absolute trust in God cannot be substituted by trust in either man or machines. When believers absolutely trust in God in their relationship with man and machines, they become a blessing to the system by leaning on the understanding of God about the system. For example, instead of relyin...

  “ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven .”” Matthew 16 : 19 NKJV Had those privileged with the keys of the kingdom of this world understand the treasure in the keys of the kingdom of heaven, no one will ever joke with divine revelation. Unfortunately, most inheritors of the keys of the kingdom of heaven often beg and scramble before the inheritors of the keys of the kingdom of this world because of faithlessness. Faith is not about commanding, binding, and loosing everything and everyone on earth; it is about declaring the revelation of heaven on earth. Before Jesus told Peter “ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven… ”, He had already remarked “ Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven ” (Matthew 16 : 17). For example, by unveiling the inheritance in faith free...