Heralds Digest

  “ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. ”” Acts 1 : 8 NKJV The primary purpose for the pursuit of position in life is material prosperity. Whether political, social, or ministerial, position guarantees a privileged control and authority over the less-privileged within the subject area. But when king David openly confessed “ And I am weak today, though anointed king (II Samuel 3 : 39 )”, he not only rejected the abuse of position; David simply acknowledged the superiority of the power received from God. On the other hand, Joab abused his privileged position with his manipulation of the people’s lives against the divine counsels of God. Therefore, “ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you “ suggests that the opposite of the Holy Spirit is not evil spirit; it is simply the outburst of self rather than the withdrawal on ...

  “But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No .”” John 21 : 4 - 5 NKJV Distraught, dejected, and disappointed will be a mild understatement of the disciples’ emotional disturbances prior to this night of shame. “ But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore “…and Christ is wont or readily characterized by this type of shore showup. It is often said of those who patiently wait on Him “ weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning”. Definitely, when Peter said to the disciples the previous night “ I am going fishing”, everyone of his colleagues couldn’t ignore his personal recipe of vocational engagement towards crisis management. But their disappointment with the sea shield strategy underscored the futility of human management of life’s challenges, without divine intervention. Obviously, Jesus had to st...

  “ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed .””  John 20 : 28 - 29 NKJV The difference between sign seekers and Bible believers is not the absence of belief, but the absence of faith in God and His revelation. Like Thomas in today’s scriptural digest, sign seekers believe only what their eyes can see. Little wonders, sign seekers are susceptible to manipulation and the deceit of the enemy. Unfortunately, being loud with “ My Lord and my God!” at the sight of signs is not evidence of faith in God. There are many “ My Lord and my God!” scenarios in our world today that keep the hearts of sign seekers away from a convincing faith in the living God, including miracles, signs and wonders, career opportunities, material blessings, political opportunities, etc. Whereas, absolute faith in God comes only by a progressive interest in t...

  “ Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle .’” I Samuel 29 : 9 NKJV Going by the association of David with the Philistines, there are enormous dilemmas in peer pressure and sight stand in life, compared with the decency of spirit stand. Within the short exchanges for permission to service his sight stand, David lost Ziklag, his family and the entire family of everyone with him to the Amalekites. Had he not retraced his steps and reverted to the spirit stand, he wouldn’t have been able to recover his loss; and he would have extended his calamity by a conflict of interest to defend king Saul and Jonathan at the battle from the clutch of death. Obviously, we all lose more to the devil by trying to admire a sight stand with the people in our lives, families, professional and ministerial careers. And unlike Achish discredited D...

  “ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin .””  John 19 : 10 - 11 NKJV The courage and confidence of Jesus in response to the Pilate pillage are instructive of every believer’s power of prevailing prayer. No doubt, those who always wield the political and administrative influence of their Pilate pillage are captives under their own strength. For example, king Saul had embarked on his wild goose chase of David under extremely restless circumstances, falling asleep in the trail and holes of caves; and exposing his vulnerability to attacks from the enemy. While the pillage would always claim “ Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You? ”, it has no power at all against the purpose of God. Oh that...

  “ A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever. ” Psalms 68 : 15 - 16 NKJV The opposite of real rest is fake fight; nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, life’s worries and anxieties on the activities of its enemies often occupy the attention of our hearts more than the promises of rest from God. Whereas, the evidence of fake fight is not the absence of the enemies’ wicked activity; it is the evidence of the absence of God. When the heart truly accepts the invitation to the presence of God, it accesses the real rest and recesses the fake fight. All its cares suddenly become the concerns of the Lord. Let the hearts with real rest focus on the Lord’s concerns, rather than getting disturbed by the enemies’ worries. And the Lord’s concerns, including His holiness in the midst of h...

  “ Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored. A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.” Proverbs 13 : 18 - 19 NKJV While there is no doubt that the overriding motive behind human desires is prosperity, progress, and promotion, the experience of David in the wilderness of king Saul underscores the difference between deceitful and delightful desires. King Saul’s desire to retain his position as the king of Israel, after God has rejected him, is a perfect example of a deceitful desire. At one point in one of his wild goose chase escapades, Saul even said, “ God has delivered him (David) into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars ( I Samuel 23 : 7 )”. He had several opportunities to respond to divine correction, but he scolded and scorned all these corrective privileges until his deceitful desire ended in destruction. Where...