Heralds Digest

  “ Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” Acts 3 : 6 - 7 NKJV Understandably, “ Silver and gold I do not have” is not an attractive status expression in our competitive world. Unfortunately, those who are deprived of physical strength in life ((like financial strength, political prowess, academic intelligence, and social sagacity, etc) have no voice in the scheme of things. Perhaps, the likes of Peter and John of today wouldn’t have been permitted to even access the beautiful gate of the temple; needless to mention the inadmissible decoration of the gate with an impotent man. Notwithstanding, the emphasis here, and which rests in “ what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” , is the superiority of the spirit strength in believer’s day-to-day...

  “ The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above .”  Proverbs 14 : 14 NKJV Satisfaction appears to be an incontestable metric of good manufacturing or the production of great services. And while a reliable service provider wouldn’t joke with whatever it takes to obtain complete satisfaction from his clients, rewardable client wouldn’t forfeit his service warranty by sending a faulty product to a different manufacturer or service provider for services. Unfortunately, when our hearts are filled with our own ways and supposedly short cuts towards self satisfaction, we lose our freely given right to spirit satisfaction. Therefore, the characteristics of a backslidden heart include self-will and self-considerations for career progression, ministerial accomplishment, business partnerships, project management, etc. When the scriptures admonish believers to trust in the Lord with all their hearts, it is because all human unde...

  “ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2 : 4 NKJV With advances in knowledge and in line with eschatological dimensions, intelligent systems are readily built-in into human appliances, processes, and relationships as smart systems. Unfortunately, supposedly redeemed children of God are nowadays programmed with this advanced carnality instead of the Holy Spirit. When we struggle with anger, animosity, and atrocity as children of God, what else remains the birthright of the children of the Devil? Whereas, like at the day of Pentecost, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit can no longer speak predictive utterances programmed by their past experiences, present circumstances, and projected manifest. For example, carnal speaking produced Mattias prior to Pentecost experience; and that event was the last mention of the name throughout the New Testament. But when the Spirit later separated Pa...

  “ 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...