Heralds Digest

  “ Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following. For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death. ” Psalms 48 : 13 - 14 NKJV Divine guidance is actually not rocket science. It is simply the guidance of the King of kings and the Lord of lords through any or the combination of His (1) commanding scripture - the Bible; (2) compelling spirit - the Holy Spirit; (3) counsel of the saints - the church; (4) common sense - reason; and (5) circumstantial signs - providence.  Whereas, advances in human intelligence are now boasting the dependence on artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing and surveillance, data science and cybersecurity networks for almost all matters of life. And by turning the human minds to robots, can this developing consecration to AI replace God as the most reliable Guide? Obviously, No! Like the psalmist’s life experiences with the sophistication of human intelligence and secur...

  “ As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the Lord of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah ” Psalms 48 : 8 NKJV Privileged to use the advanced voting windows of Election Canada, I casted my vote yesterday to exercise my civic responsibility and participate in the drive towards forming the next federal members of the parliament. This is the beauty of democracy, where citizens have a sense of control over city politics, policies (either internal or external), regulations and administration. Unfortunately, as robust as this game of numbers count in sane societies and economies, many people are deliberately oblivious of the sovereign control of God over the limits of the power of human control. And just like the state or city control, the government of our individual self, family unit, and project administration is always under the central control of God. But whenever we get intoxicated over the potency of our human control, we get distracted...

  “ He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.” Proverbs 10 : 5 NKJV Speaking of the honest harvest of a wise son, there is no doubt that the life and ministry of Jesus on earth still brings a pleasing harvest of souls or the Good Friday to the kingdom of God. It still makes good to underscore the holiness, obedience, new nature, excellence, satisfaction, and triumph in the harvest that attracted the filthy Zacchaeus and turned his hostility into honesty. When Zacchaeus finally said  to the Lord “ Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold ( Luke 19 : 8 )”, he surrendered his mid-life crisis and entrapment from hostile harvests under the feet of Christ - the perfect epitome of honest harvest. As it all started for all humanity with the Saviour’s surrender on the Good Friday and consummated by the power of His resurrection on Easter Sunday...

  “ So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life. ”” Luke 18 : 29 - 30 NKJV A subtle submission to materialism and the possession of wealth or properties have always promised complete satisfaction. But everyone, especially those who have been privileged to experience the transition from a developing economy to a developed economy, knows that a subtle submission to materialism is advanced slavery with its attendant risk of depression and complete dissatisfaction. And in response to Jesus’ call for solemn submission to God as a recipe against the condemnation of subtle submission to materialism, the audience asked “ Who then can be saved?” . Just like Peter was awakened to the danger of subtle submission to almost everything that calls for attention in life, the priority a...

  “ God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah ” Psalms 46 : 1 - 2 , 11 NKJV It is not news that refuge and trouble are words and opposite. Likewise, reliable refuge is authenticated by traumatized trouble. And when the psalmist painted the scenario when the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, he probably envisaged the experience of Jonah when he was thrown into the troubled sea or possibly over-sighted the experience of the disciples when they cried “ Master, carest not that we perished? ” in the troubled sea. While the circumstances differ in both of these illustrations, the constant denominator is the manifestation of the presence of the Lord in times of trouble. Jonah was kept calm even in the belly of the whale, while the presence of Jesus calmed the t...

  “ The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.” Psalms 45 : 13 - 14 NKJV Considering the misconception about royalty among the kings, politicians, and the rich folks in our world, it is important to always underscore that royalty is rather arrayed with righteousness instead of being expressed with rebellion. A lifestyle shrouded with licentiousness, disobedience to the divine counsels, and a disregard for the authority and sovereignty of the King of kings and the Lord of lords is nothing more a rebellious reign. By comparing the reign between the beggar Lazarus and the rich man in the story of Jesus about the concept of royalty, only the privilege of an hindsight can support the right concept of royalty explained by the scriptural revelation that “ So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to...

  ““ Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant. ”” Proverbs 9 : 16 - 17 NKJV The difference between sweat and sweet appears to be the replacement of pain with pace without hardworking. Unfortunately, the moment sweat is removed from sweet, the leftover is simple shrewdness. Further on Christ’s exhortation to the disciples on the subject of steadfastness and stewardship in Luke 16, he referenced the commendation of a shrewd steward for his use of deception and smartness to achieve a short-lived sweetness within the camp of darkness. Whereas, in the real sense and as the scriptural digest for the day put it more succinctly, shrewd stewardship is practiced by those who are simple and lack the basic understanding of the dignity in integrity and uprightness. Actually, stolen water and secret bread are really not sweet and pleasant; but a surrendered slavery and futil...