Heralds Digest

  “ He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.” Psalms 18 : 17 - 18 NKJV While reflecting on the root of deliverance from the book Obadiah that “ But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions (Obadiah 1 : 17 )”, it is interesting to observe the preeminence of holiness before true deliverance, and the possession of every believer’s possessions. The finger of God and His support system in the life and affairs of His children are predominant in the story of deliverance. “ He delivered me from my strong enemy…But the Lord was my support ” suggests that the sincere story of deliverance is more about the might of the Deliverer than about the miracles to the recipients of deliverance. Therefore, more often than not, the deliverance story from divine perspective is interested in th...

  “ And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. ”” Matthew 21 : 44 NKJV The reason why Emmanuel (or Immanuel) clicked more than my common name is the revelation of its meaning, i.e., the immanence of God. While the transcendence (or the existence of God apart from us and His non-subject to our material world) of God is merely revered by religious people, the immanence of God enhances the practice of His presence in believer’s everyday living and lifestyle. Notwithstanding, no one can truly practice the presence of God without first acknowledging, appreciating, and accepting Him as the sacred cornerstone to be fallen upon. Just as mountains tremble in the presence of God, the hardness and stubbornness in the heart of man are truly broken when we fall upon the sacred stone for mercy. Job did because he practiced the transcendence and immanence of God, while his friends and miserable comforters were limited by their practic...

  “ My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. ” Proverbs 3 : 21 - 23 NKJV Reflecting on the apprehensiveness in the script of most producers of scI-tech movies with rogue artificial intelligence (AI) machines, the common denominator is always the burden of trust. Trust comes from the place of confidence and love; and faith is trust in God that transforms all our other relationships, either with machines or men. Unfortunately, faith in the highest of principals, philanthropists, princes, and politicians, other than God, cannot guarantee rest of mind. But when the scriptures say “ Keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck ”, it implies that it is only the sound wisdom and discretion from the Lord that can guarantee rest of mind. This is scriptural therapy against high blo...

  ““ As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth .” Job 21 : 4 - 5 NKJV Job’s response to Zophar’s sermon on the plight of a wicked man succinctly unveil the sacred principle of patience in the Lord’s leadership. No matter how skillfully managed, impatience often draws its strength from the place of pride. Unless by the Lord’s leadership and the inspiration of His spirit, wealth, knowledge, position, and material achievements are bound to puff up the heart’s disposition to anyone’s life relationship. Therefore, “ Put your hand over your mouth ” and let the Lord lead the way in that moment of family misunderstanding, financial difficulties and mismanagement, social disorderliness, and disloyalty in business or project development. Whenever human emotion, intelligence, and carnal understanding take the best part of a man’s leadership skills, he is likely to misfire disproportionat...

  “ With Your hand from men, O Lord, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes. As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness .” Psalms 17 : 14 - 15 NKJV Reflecting on the basis of Christ’s response to the Zebedee brothers, who sought for the position of greatness through a proxy question from their mother, “ You do not know what you asked ” (Matthew 20:22), I can understand why the human heart do not place priority on ‘who you are? ’ above ‘what you are? ’. Like the Zebedees, life’s struggles are tempted to focus on a personal position attainment (in response to ‘what you are? ’) above and greater than others; while God desires a purposeful purity of heart (in response to ‘who you are?’ ) in likeness to Himself. Therefore, by the privilege of the psalmist’ wilderness ex...

  “ 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, ...