Heralds Digest

  “ So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God .” Deuteronomy 13 : 17 - 18 NKJV The strategic master plan of our archenemy in the world remains the deception of the simple through the offer of rest routes to life’s achievements and advancement. Unfortunately, rest routes are simply the routes of the rest; they are not the same as the rest route from the Lord. God’s offering to those who come to Him is rest for their souls; and not the routes of the rest against the promised rest for their souls. When Achan on his route to the promised rest from the Lord was accosted by the accursed things, he immediately sacrificed the rest route for the rest routes ...

  “ Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” Psalms 43 : 3 - 4 NKJV The holy hill of the Lord is not just a go to place for praise; it is designed as a dwelling place of worshippers with clean hands and pure hearts. And if the psalmist in the Old Testament desires the Lord’s light and truth in preparation for the holy hill, we in the New Testament context as being built up as the Lord’s holy hill need no lesser preparation for the revelation of light and truth through our daily engagements. Unfortunately, the building site of the Lord’s holy hill will always require uncomfortable pulling down of dilapidated structures that cannot support the glory of God. And in God’s workshop and furnace crucibles, His surrendered vessels are moulded, chiseled, and formed patiently until the best pieces for ...

  ““ And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. ” Luke 12 : 29 - 31 NKJV If we truly believe that God knows all about what seems to keep us always awake with worry, we can actually trust Him to handle the worrying absolutely on our behalf. This understanding is every believer’s worry-free warrant to arrest all ‘where is your God? ’ situations and circumstances in life. For example,  God had already prepared the worry-free warrant ahead of Israel’s encounter with the great and tall children of the Anakims with “ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you (Deuteron...

  “ No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 11 : 33 NKJV One of the highlights of the last few days’ event in the beautiful Palm Springs Desert was a dinner night by a colourful Oasis Pool. Our table was rounded by different sets of lamp-stand designed to give both light and heat for the warmth and radiant comfort of guests. Unfortunately, one of the lamp-stands beside my seat found it hard to retain its light, in spite of the server or lighter’s occasional struggle to light the lamp that kept going off to the frustration of everyone. It just shows what great efforts can be invested to painstakingly stamp out darkness out of any system. Therefore, when Jesus used the illustration “ No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket “, it literally means no one who succeeds to lit a lamp will intentionally cover up its radiance and illumination against...

  “ For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.” ” Proverbs 8 : 35 - 36 NKJV When the scriptures say elsewhere “ He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord (Proverbs 18 : 22 )” in the light of today’s scriptural digest, it implies finding favour is actually finding God. Unfortunately, many believers today still miss the golden opportunity bestowed by finding the perfect will of God in marriage or any inevitable junction of decision making in life. Whereas, finding favour is strictly about finding fellowship opportunities with God, acknowledging the actions of God, valuing the visions revealed by God, observing obedience through God’s instructions, understanding the entire umpire of God and the revelation of God’s righteousness. Actually, finding favour is designed by God to assist humanity in finding faith through the circumstances and the challenge...

  “ So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven .” Luke 11 : 2 NKJV While the principle of prayer was established by the Lord’s Prayer, the major concerns of the disciples before asking the Lord for guidance on how to pray outlined the fundamentals of worry and anxiety in life. The disciples were worried about how to make things right in their relationships with God, especially through prayer. Even today, many believers still approach the prayer corridors and exit the corridors with their worries. Whereas, the first priority of approaching the presence of the Lord is to establish the understanding of God’s will on all matters in our lives. Once the will of God on all matters (ambitions, relationships, assignments, engagements, etc) are established, worries immediately disappear; because we only need to thereafter listen to what we need to ask Him. How worry-free is it to liv...

  “ And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. ”” Luke 9 : 61 - 62 NKJV In the three different accounts on the subject of followership, Jesus emphasized the common challenge to followership as the lack of wholesomeness or fullness. It doesn’t matter how the call to follow Jesus was initiated (i.e., whether we asked or He called), anyone who must follow the Lord must follow fully without any reservation. Full followership requires faith, understanding, loyalty and love ; and that is why every other consideration thereafter is consistently and deliberately sidelined to secure God’s approval. With faith , followers must do ‘Forsaking All, I Trust Him’ against all callers; with understanding , followers must unlearn all other realities to relearn and retain the promises of God; with loyalty , followers...