Heralds Digest

  “ Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this. ” Hosea 7 : 8 - 10 KJV The amazing reflection of Ephraim is the sweet relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But when Ephraim began to develop an appetite for half-baked cakes, he began to make excuses for his frequent flights from the throne of grace to consult with earthly princes and mortal kings. And like Ephraim, believers are called and chosen to be peculiar and reflections of God’s praises. Our strength is anchored on the ability to understand the counsels of God through divine revelation and intimate relationships; and not through social networking, artificial intelligence, and political fraternity. These carnal resources and pr...

  “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. ” Romans 6 : 16 - 18 KJV If servants of sin and unrighteousness implies slavery, servants of righteousness offer full freedom from evil and satanic oppression. Unlike the expectation of many people about freedom, servants of righteousness are inspired only by divine counsels and revelations. Otherwise, the world of social media and the litany of online contents are saturated with hateful speech, murder, wickedness, malice and envy for the entanglement of freelancers. Only those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and preserved by His grace are technically free from the subtle manipulation. Unfortunately, m...

  “ Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6 : 12 - 14 KJV Just as Adam and Eve pawned the garden of Eden on the platters of their endowment as free moral agents, New Testament saints could readily pawn the privileges of grace on the altar of dormant dominion. While the grace of God has appeared to all to teach godliness and righteousness; the redeemed of the Lord have to be deliberate to exercise this dominion. Otherwise, the deceiver is still very much around to provide convenience through compromise, comfort with corruption, and capital from concessions. Even though convenience, comfort and capital represent a token of dominion...

  “ Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, Seeing he hath no heart to it? He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: And the father of a fool hath no joy. Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.” Proverbs 17 : 16 , 21 , 24 KJV When a fool says there is no God, he doesn’t actually mean the absence of the evidence of fact; it just implies the abandonment of favour for flavour. “ Seeing he hath no heart to it ” is simply the fool’s flavour for the embrace of all forms of ungodliness. Despite the numerous display of the deeds of kindness and righteousness, some people have the nerves, arrogance and flavour for the dividends of unrighteousness, wickedness and all forms of evil. “ But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth” suggests the wishful thinking and attraction of wisdom in wickedness, rewards for ruinous disposition, and wealth in wastefulness. While favour applies the open revel...

  “ Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform .” Romans 4 : 16 , 20 - 21 KJV Abraham has remained every believer’s father of faith for a reason: “ he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God ”. Our glory gift to God is always the best expression of appreciation for His love. Therefore, every believer’s faith and persuasion on the fulfillment of God’s promises is a glory gift. And just as Abraham did, we can endure pain, persecution, and pressures against pleasure for the sake of holding unto the promises of God. It implies that the alternatives to a persuasive f...

  “ For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. ” Romans 4 : 3 - 5 KJV If all we can do for good relationships at home, workplaces, and the society is dependent on us, everyone would attest to the Herculean burden of maintaining the right relationship in life. For Abraham, the options would definitely include believing in Sarah, Lot and their extended families…and attending the consequences of their childlessness throughout the period of residence in the waiting room would be great. But “ For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness ”. Faith is simply about believing God for who He is and not what He does. Even when surrounded by doubt, difficulties, denials, disappointment and decep...

  “ Truth shall spring out of the earth; And righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; And our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; And shall set us in the way of his steps .” Psalm 85 : 11 - 13 KJV While there is no hiding in the place of God’s grace in relation to the affairs of man, God’s grace is readily mistaken for gifts. Just as rain falls on the wicked and the godly alike, God’s gifts of good health, material wealth, and social worthfulness can abound without commensurate riches in God’s grace. His dealings for grace are often measured by the people's exposure to the challenges of life, wilderness experiences, and precarious circumstances. For example, when God responded back to Apostle Paul’s struggle with infirmities that “ My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12 : 9 )”, it wasn’t because of God’s weakness but His wisdom towards the apportio...