Heralds Digest

  “ Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches .” Proverbs 24 : 3 - 4 NKJV The difference between healthy and haughty houses is crystal clear, starting from the foundation to the selection of the different constituting materials. Without prejudices to the pitiable ends of houses built on faulty foundations, haughtiness and human considerations for quick gains make many people on solid foundations to consider the wayward options to winning the race of life. When believers tell lies and engage in sharp corners secretly for greedy gains, they end up erecting haughty houses that offer shelter without homes, properties without prosperity, and material riches without meaningful rest of mind. Little wonder the scriptures refer to the characteristics of healthy houses of the hearts as in “ Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established “. For example, King Solom...

  “ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.” Psalms 114 : 7 - 8 NKJV While found recently a little bit disturbed by the raging waves of wickedness and evil, the Lord’s response was astonishingly distilled “ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5 : 16 )”. Understandably, all of God’s commandments and instructions in life are not actually  burdensome; rather they are revelations of God’s blessings and the embodiment of His grace. Therefore, “ Let your light so shine before men“ was understood as a call to underscore the power of the Lord’s light to quench the darts of darkness and wickedness. Unfortunately, when believers tremble before the strongholds of wickedness and unrighteousness, we merely ignore the prevailing power of the presence of the Lord within. Whereas, the weapo...

  “ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord .” Ephesians 5 : 8 - 10 NKJV The evidence of life transformation and deliverance from darkness is not in the rhetoric. There are always many professors with apt teaching capabilities of the gospel of light; but only few among them are possessors with honest doing characteristics of a lighthouse. The evidence of a lighthouse, according to Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians, is “ Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord ”. The unfortunate excuse of the gross darkness in today’s marketplace, workplace, and the social lifestyle of people, partners, and principals notwithstanding, the Lord’s lighthouse would readily overcome wickedness with goodness, unrighteousness...

  “ Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies .” Psalms 112 : 6 - 8 NKJV Unthreatened desires are always appearing decent until they get provoked by evil and wicked activities of our broken world. Thereafter, men are emboldened to act as men, showing their temerity and toughness with decisiveness. Unfortunately, many homes, establishments and relationships are broken and destroyed by these vengeful dispositions to human flaws, fickleness, and fraudulence. And none of life’s examples of godly homes, ministries and relationships have ever been sustained without a decisive forbearance of human inadequacies. Therefore, delightful desires have always earned the virtue of trusting in the Lord and not getting manipulated by evil tidings. These dispositions are gifts of the ...

  “ My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways .” Proverbs 23 : 26 NKJV It is merely a shallow understanding that treats the “ My son, give me your heart“ request from the Lord as gifting to God. A deeper understanding actually situates a gifting from God before a reciprocal gifting to God. Given the realization of the depravity of sin, before anyone can qualify as the son of God, he must have accepted the gift of God in His only begotten Son as the Lord and Saviour. And that besides, “ And let your eyes observe my ways ” is equally more than submission to gaze at the ways of God. Whereas, in actual fact “ And let your eyes observe my ways” is a submission to glory in the wisdom of God. Therefore, every time a true believer is thinking about the King of kings and the Lord of lords’ calling “ My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways” , he is more focussed on all the outpouring of gracious gifts from the Creator of Heaven and the earth. It ...

  “ He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. ” Psalms 111 : 9 - 10 NKJV The fundamental principle of the devil’s manipulation from the beginning has been the painting of an ugly understanding of the unwavering love of God. ‘Doubting the unwavering love of God’ is the only way the devil could succeed in making Adam and Eve to disobey the commandment of the Lord; and it is still the same principle of promoting the toga of disobedience, wickedness and all forms of unrighteousness, even among the supposed children of God today. Whereas, even in our fallen states and wretchedness, the love of God remains unabated. And the good understanding is simply the GOSPEL of love: “For G od so loved the world that He gave His O nly begotten S on, that whoever believes in Him should not P erish...

  “ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. ” Ephesians 2 : 8 , 10 NKJV With grace being God in the race of life, man is able to always see himself as a good gift, created for divine purpose and agenda. Unfortunately, while we look outside God for the source of good gift, we have seen complaints, competition, and confusion arising from men’s attempts at grabbing credits. Whereas, good works in life, family, business, and ministry are not truly defined by the seriousness or otherwise of human engagements, in line with divine perspectives. Oftentimes, the motives behind most of life’s casually assessed good works are painfully ugly and bad. Therefore, the real influence of God’s grace in the life and affairs of all workers still remains the making of good gifts out of the surrendered lives. “ For we...