Heralds Digest

  “ So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13 : 31 - 32 , 34 NKJV Reciprocating any gesture of love with love is common; the only challenge arises with the call to love our enemies in truth. “ So, when Judas Iscariot had gone out to mobilize for the arrest of Jesus Christ ”, Jesus preached the demonstration of the glory of God on the basis of love for one another, including our enemies. But everyone knows that the reflection of God’s glory in our lives embraces the accommodation of pain, persecution, betrayal, like it happened with Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. And having conquered the pain and agony at Gethsemane, Jesus was able to love Judas unconditionally. Unfortunately, we are often interested in pre...

“ For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. ”  Psalms 66 : 10 - 12 NKJV The praises of God for externalities are comely; anybody can shout to celebrate physical transformation of state and status of his standard of living. No wonder why heads are forced low and shoulders down when we navigate the challenges of life and confront ceaseless opposition.  Notwithstanding, the wondrous works of the Lord at all seasons in the affairs of true believers are never abated. God is always at work in the hearts of believers, especially in trying times. For example, in the midst of the wilderness of life, the psalmist was able to discover the wondrous works of God: “ For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” . In spite of the wicked inten...

  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12 : 24 NKJV We all know that only grounded grains can bear flourishing fruits for the benefit of the system; but we most often prefer the use of gainful grains through our trust in micromanaging. To show that we are fully in-charge of the situation and circumstance, we have come up with intelligent standards, schemes, schedulers, and automation systems for proper monitoring, accountability, and control. And in the absence of any conflicting counsel from God in the use of these human intelligence, systems that are governed by these gainful grains often do well with justice, productivity, accountability. Unfortunately, the use of human intelligence are readily corrupted, unstable, and not always straightforward. Therefore, human’s gainful grains for career development, family accomplishments, and social relevance must be grounded ...

  “ The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.” Proverbs 12 : 26 - 27 NKJV Prudence with men and purity before God appears to be two sides of the same coin of prosperity and life’s precious possession. With prudence, the heart of man thrives in hunting with fellow men, through career development, family engagement and ministerial accomplishment even in the most adverse environment ... .because there is always something to roast in hunting, rather than rot in hurting. And with purity, the heart of man triumphs in hunting with God, through the same career development, family engagement and ministerial accomplishment. It implies that the state of every human heart is his precious possession. When the heart is blessed with both purity and prudence, diligence becomes its natural birthright against the subtle friendship with deceit, del...

  “ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? ”” John 11 : 39 - 40 NKJV Generally, there is always a dividing line with a pavement of stone between great gory and God’s glory in life. However the story line suggests either the advent of God’s glory or its departure like Ichabod, the divine instruction “ Take away the stone ” remains relevant to replace human management with divine intervention. For the advent of God’s glory, Mary and Martha needed to “ Take away the stone ” of self-managing the stenches of their hopelessness. Whereas, for every threatened departure of God’s glory from the affairs of life and divine providence, what God needs is true repentance and forsaking of all forms of unrighteousness. Unfortunately, carnality and pride have always succeeded in p...

  “ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.” I Samuel 1 : 27 - 28   NKJV The child Samuel may appear to just be an answer to Hannah’s prayer, but the child actually represented a token of a covenant relationship between Hannah and God. For example, the child opens up an intimate relationship between Hannah and God, evidenced by her priestly prayer in Chapter 2. Also, the child became an answer to the restoration of priesthood in Israel. God had intended to terminate the priesthood from the race of Eli, and needed a covenant child to fulfil the need (1 Samuel 2:26). Therefore, when Hannah said “ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him “, it shows that true prayer is always an engagement between the God of Heaven and man over a covenant child. And whenever ...

  “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” John 10 : 14 NKJV When Jesus says “ I know My sheep ”, He speaks about the deep trust and sincere relationships between a good shepherd and His good sheep. It is one thing for a believer’s faith and trust to claim the knowledge of God’s love and affection; but “ I know My sheep ” is deeper. Therefore, the greatest of achievements for every believer in life is knowing God to the extent God can equally say “ I know My sheep ”. For example, when Ruth finally became a sold-out sheep of the Lord, her needs became the burden of everyone God placed in her life. Naomi had to confess “ My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? ( Ruth 3 : 1 )”; and Boaz goes “ my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman ( Ruth 3 : 11 )”. Likewise today, whenever any believer becomes a sold-out sheep of the Lor...