Heralds Digest

  “ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” II Thessalonians 2 : 16 - 17 NKJV Considering the reality of an exchange of good hope by grace, life is filled with bad and unstable hope by race. As long as homes, life’s projects, institutions and societies are governed by unstable economics, insecure borders, and fragile health systems, hope in human abilities is bound to be equally shaky. How can the human hearts survive the threat in a race confronted by a system of conspiracy, corruption, and conflagration? While the Thessalonians have their own share of wicked confrontations and challenges, Apostle Paul’s prayer was focussed on divine intervention for good hopeful hearts. With the grace of God in the heart, there is no disturbance by the activities and actions of the enemies. For the counsels of the Lord are est...

  “ Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” II Thessalonians 1 : 11 - 12 NKJV When Apostle Paul said to the Philippians “ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death ( Philippians 3 : 10 )”, he makes ‘fellowship of His sufferings ’ appears like medals. Now to the Thessalonians, he is praying for them to have grace to pass the call and be worthy of the same ‘fellowship of His sufferings’ . Obviously, not everyone who is called is eventually counted worthy. Unfortunately, many believers would do everything including compromise to escape being counted. Whereas, persecutions at the centre of God’s calling are necessary working tools ...

   “ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5 : 7 - 8 , 16 - 18 NKJV Night is symbolic of a loss of consciousness; and agents of darkness often sedate their victims with unconsciousness to carry out their acts of evil and wickedness without restraint. Unfortunately, believers wilfully encourage self-sedation through worldliness and the pursuit of worldly riches. The night norms are simply the adoption of societal lifestyles, professional practices, and social relationships that are antithetical to divine inspiration. And the rule of the thumb is for believers to dissociate themselves from any association or engagement where prayer and consistent fellowship with God are discourag...

  “ Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.” Proverbs 24 : 27 NKJV Against life’s common desires for fast food, fun, friendship, and everything, proper foundation for a worthwhile project is mostly laid on solid grounds that require rigour and perseverance. “ Prepare your outside work“ is a symbolic expression for unfriendly navigation, wilderness experiences, and the frustrating challenges that represent the props for solid business development, friendly partnerships, fruitful marital relationships, and successful ministerial accomplishments. For example, the prosperity of Joseph in the palace of Egypt was built on the foundation of his pit expenditure among brethren, Potiphar’s household experience with a sex abuser, and prison’s exposure to the palace gatekeepers. If Joseph had not prepared to make honesty, humanity, and humility out of the pit and prison experiences, he wouldn’t have been ready to take up the responsib...

  “ And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” I Thessalonians 3 : 12 - 13 NKJV If the psalmist in the midst of his wilderness experience and affliction of life could pray “ With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! ( Psalms 119 : 10 )”, little wonder that Apostle Paul in his chains wasn’t burdened by his personal affliction. Therefore, the concern of holy hearts is singularly the abundance of love and fellowship with God and His holiness, and less and less of the care for convenience and comfort. Most often than not, the primary agenda of every desire for convenience and comfort in life is the compromise of the believer's relationship with God. Therefore, with every desire for pleasure and prosperity, there can be no wants for hurt...

  “ For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake .” I Thessalonians 1 : 5 NKJV When the scriptures posited that “ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord ( Psalms 119 : 1 )”, it is important to underscore that the undefiled in the way or the redeemed of the Lord are not blessed because they walk in the law of the Lord. Actually, true believers walk in the law of the Lord because they are blessed. The gospel represents an inspired instruction for total transformation of the hearts of men. The transformation is simply the evidence of the power of the gospel. When any gospel minister is totally surrendered to the potter’s crucible in the furnace as God’s vessel and instrument of service, the inspired instruction or gospel message from him carries the full ability of the gospel to transform the lives of his listeners. Little...

  “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. ” Colossians 4 : 5 - 6 NKJV Recovery of assets and stolen properties in our sophisticated world  is like a chess game with lots of tactics. Experienced and greedy gamers have the ability to simulate a long sequence of moves to checkmate their opponents. Whereas, when the scriptures admonished believers to “ Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside “, it wasn’t recommending the engagement of greedy tactics….but rather “ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt ”. While greed is interested in material prosperity and earthly gains, grace is focussed on soul-winning for the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, the grace game requires lots of patience, perseverance and peace-making efforts. After all, being outside the commonwealth of peace implies the possibility of reckless display of wrat...