Heralds Digest

  “ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. ” Mark 16 : 15 - 16 , 20 KJV Without the intervention of the resurrected Christ, the disciples would have succeeded in a mistaken perception of the gospel for a protection from intimidation and fear of persecution. Instead of ‘Go ye into all the world ’, the disciples had gone into hiding or ‘Run away from the world’ for grief, shame, and remediation. ‘Running away from the world’ is a natural and convenient response to broken relationships, social insecurity, and general disappointments in the family, workplaces and the marketplaces. When friends and associates are targeted or treated with fear and suspicion in line with the slogan ‘once bitten, twice shy’ , the door o...

  “ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: But he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: And shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. ” Psalm 32 : 10 - 11 KJV While it is surprising that people readily think the price of forgiveness is confession, on her deathbed, even the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796) acknowledged “ I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. The good Lord will forgive me: that’s his” . Total forgiveness is the free offering of the good Lord the Father; and the price is the rejection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, people prefer the choice of coverup based on the pride of principals, principalities, and their personalities, thinking confession is too big a price to pay. Whereas, the “ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked“ consequence is baseless with common sense and gracious trust in the atonement of the Lamb of God. There is no need for endless, pai...

  “ Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; Which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Psalm 31 : 19 - 20 KJV It is unfortunate that the pride of men and the strife of their tongues still represent the gross greed in every man and the consequences of his fall from grace. Even today, the absence or the lack of evidence of the great goodness of God remains the lifting of evidence of the gross greed in man. Therefore, when any day starts with an appreciation of the great goodness of God, it wouldn’t be surprising why all the activities, engagements, and relationships that make the day are blessed. And whenever the atmosphere in believers’ family units, workplaces, and marketplaces is built upon the great goodness of God, there is always zero tolerance for the promoti...

  “ And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept .” Mark 14 : 72 KJV Just as the scriptures proffer that safety is probable in the multitude of counsels, confusion and contamination also attend to multitudes of words. As we compare the divergent destinies of Peter and Judas, who were two disciples of Jesus and privileged to be exposed to the same qualities and quantities of words, it is important for today’s pilgrims to be wary of the necessity of life’s response to weighty words.  Both men had their turn of reflecting and responding to weighty words; and while Peter opted for weeping on the weighty word “ Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice ”, Judas decided to waste his life to cover up the shame. No matter their influences and affluence, mindless words of human beings are light-weighted and they cease to matter with...

  “ For I have heard the slander of many: Fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, They devised to take away my life. But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. ” Psalm 31 : 13 - 15 KJV It is important for believers to note that trying times are not the absence of fear, but the presence of trust in God. While our enemies may appear to be having their feed times, God is still very much in charge and in control of the situation and circumstances. Therefore, ‘But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand ’ is a perfect demonstration of trust times in trying times. It implies that TRUST times in real life is the declaration of truth in the midst of troubles, the demonstration of righteousness in the midst of ruins, the defence of uprightness in the midst of uncleanliness, discharge of sincerity in the midst of...

  “ In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: Be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.” Psalm 31 : 1 - 2 KJV Deliverance in the human economy is a game of chance that can either go right or wrong. In the seeming context of right deliverance, the deliverer often boasts in his capacity or superpower to bully other people’s rights and privileges; and the beneficiaries are still subject to shame in the questionable deliverance. And in the wrong deliverance, there is no deliverance at all; and everyone is ashamed. The morality here is that there is no sweet and secured deliverance with any trust in the arms of the flesh. For example, the most reliable deliverer of the psalmist is Joab; but everyone knows that Joab finally became David’s turn in the flesh. And when the psalmist declared “ In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust” , he underscored the risk of falling into sha...

  “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Mark 13 : 13 KJV The concept of endless endurance is big and bogus. Even our great deceiver knows that the human endurance limit is finite and not endless. Therefore, the believer's faith is deliberately tested with different fabrications of hatred, until the undiscerning folks shift ground for their damnable desecration. “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake“ doesn’t suggest a consistent throwing of pebbles. Sometimes, enemies would readily offer believers peace treaties to bribe their conscience against the truth and the paths of righteousness. For example, when Satan offered Adam and Eve the delicious fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, it was because of his pure hatred for their consistent fellowship and promising revelations of the glory of God. Those who are tempted to treat hatred as personal attacks are easily taken by t...