FAITH CAPSULE: Knowing God or knowing about God is crucial to live for God.

Acts 5

Are you living with an understanding of knowing and living for the glory of God?
Understanding is what will enable one to know God.
Also, the level of understanding of God will determine how far anyone will walk with God.
From Genesis to Revelation, the importance of understanding is emphasised.
Psalm 14:2 records, “The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.”
Proverbs 4:7 states, ‘…Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get Wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
Are you giving to the word of God with understanding?
In John 8:43, rhetorically, Jesus asked and answered, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.”
One who does not listen is not hearing the word of God repeatedly to gain understanding.
To be hearing repeatedly is the character of having faith, the evidence of understanding to know God.
Meditating on the word of God repeatedly is hearing the word of God to gain understanding of God.
Meditating is communicating with God, hearing from God, understanding God, and knowing God.
Psalm 49:3 confirms that meditation will give understanding, stating: “My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.”
Gaining understanding by hearing (meditating with God) will give understanding.
Meditating is rooted in the heart.
One with understanding will draw from the heart.
Proverbs 20:5 informs, “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
Again, understanding is important for gaining from the heart that is well kept, not occupied with evil.
Proverbs 4:23 warns, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
A failure to consciously keep the heart diligent will open one to becoming a victim of evil.
Regardless of the title, as a religious one, or having been engaging life as a believer, will not deny any attempt of evil to occupy the heart.
Judas walked with Jesus but was not able to shut his heart against the devil, as Jesus testified.(John 13:2)
The gathering of believers could not deny Satan from gaining entrance into the heart of Ananias and Saphira.
Peter responded to Ananias and said,“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 5:3)
It is understanding to keep the heart with all diligence.
With understanding, it is to seek God to find God.
Seeking God without understanding will not find God.
With understanding, seek God in His own way to find Him.
Deuteronomy 4:29 informs the condition it takes to find God: “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
The condition to seek God and find Him is: seeking Him with heart and with soul, the character of seeking Him diligently.
It is understanding to seek God diligently to find God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to live a life of understanding be established in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Knowing God or knowing about God is crucial to live for God.

Psalm 14

Understanding is crucial, and all should grow in understanding to live for God.
God pays attention to the affairs of all.
God expects all to have understanding, not to livr as a fool.
Psalm 14:1-2, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; they have done abominable works. There is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.”
Understanding God will unlock knowing God, living for God, and having a knowing edge in the journey of life.
Take note, understanding should be a way of life.
Understanding the word of God is the evidence of knowing God, not knowing about God.
To answer as a believer, truly living for God, understanding God will give a knowing edge for a believer.
Knowing about God does not have a place with God because it lacks understanding of God.
Gain understanding to know God; then live for God.
Do you know God?
Claiming to be a believer is not evidence of knowing God.
Many are unbelieving believers who do not know God.
For real, do you know God?
Do you have an understanding of God?
It is a mistaken assumption of one who claims to know God but only knows about God.
Do you know God?
All should be looking inward and seeking deeper truth if there is an understanding of how to know God.
The majority of acclaimed believers know about God but do not know God by evidence of ways of living outside of God.
It is not difficult to search oneself and know if one knows God or knows about God.
One can deceive the world by claiming to know God but not knowing God.
One who understands will know God, to live life for God, not to live a life of waste.
Understanding is that God wants His creation to live (exist) for Him.
One with an understanding of God will strive and live for God.
Revelation 4:11 records the reason why to live for God:“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
It is the will of God for all to exist (live) for Him, giving Him all attention.
With an understanding of what God expects comes the knowledge to walk in God (live for God).
Understand and know that all exists for God.
Understand and know to live for the glory, honour, and power of God.
When there is understanding and knowledge to live for God, such will excel for God.
Daniel understood; he knew God, and he lived for God.
Daniel 11:32 states, “…the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”
Understanding is crucial for anyone to walk worthy of the glory of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to fill you with understanding to live for Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be conscious to avoid a monitor in your life.

Genesis 19

Who is monitoring your life without your knowledge?
Such should be identified as the inquisitor of your life.
One who inquires about another can be unduly harsh, severe, or hostile about the life.
God identifies Job as an integrity, blameless, and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. (Job 2:3)
The identity of Job, by God, is not an excuse not to be excused from an inquisitor.
An inquisitor can be family or a friend.
The wife of Job, as his inquisitor, was discouraging enough, but Job could not be discouraged.
His wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)
Job responds to his wife as one who knows God.
God saw Job as a man of integrity, but his wife saw him differently.
The wife saw him as wasting time by waiting on God. 
Are you experiencing an inquisitor in your life, or are you an inquisitor in the life of others? 
Who is the inquisitor that is discouraging your walk with God?
Can you perceive the inquisitor of your life to know how to avoid such in your life?
At the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his wife received the direction of God to escape destruction. 
Genesis 19:17 records, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17) Just as they advanced on the route of escape, the wife of Lot could not obey the direction of God but questioned God by her action of disobedience as she became a pillar of salt.
In the deliverance plan of God to escape sudden death, the wife of Lot was an inquisitor.
The Bible records that the wife of Lot looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.(Genesis 19:26)
She acted as an inquisitor, unconsciously questioning God.
Having a monitor unconsciously can be painfully challenging.
Often, a negative inquisitor denies the blessing in place for life.
For example, there were miracles by Jesus on every ground, but not in His city of Nazareth. 
The people were inquisitors wanting to know the source of His wisdom and the work of His hand. In the eyes of His people, He was just the son of a carpenter, the mere son of Joseph and Mary.
The Bible records the response of Jesus to the inquisition of His people: “But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house. He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:4-5) 
Are you an inquisitor of the messenger of God, or are you a messenger of God experiencing inquisitor in your life?
Will you stop being an inquisitor in the life of one who is answering to the assignment of God?

Prayer for today: Pray not to become a victim of an inquisitor or not to be a victim of the negative inquisition of this world.

FAITH CAPSULE: In life, it is the daily challenges that often prevent one from looking up to God. 

Isaiah 64

Let the act of meditating prayerfully be committed to God.
God is a caring God whose jealousy is of Him.
Knowing that the antidote to jealousy is giving attention to the jealous one.
Prayerfully, meditate before God to gain and retain His presence.
Calling the given day what you expect from God is what God will give to such.
Meditate prayerfully on your expectation before God.
Understand and know that the Bible records that you give a choice of expectation. Proverbs 18:21 records,“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”  
Looking up to God can be rooted in meditating before God.
With a desire to be looking up to God, speak life to experience the manifestation of what you call for your day to be.
Looking up to God is giving Him regard, the antidote for a jealous God, the evidence of not seeking any other God. 
Leviticus 19:31 records the word of God against seeking another god, “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” 
Know God and not look outside of Him at all times.
Looking up to God is the character of waiting on Him without a doubt. God is a caring God who will not ignore one who waits on Him. 
Isaiah 64:4 testifies that God “…acts for the one who waits for Him.” Consciously looking up to God, the character of waiting on God, is bound to find God. 
With understanding, looking up to God will not be wasted in ways of life.
Looking up to God is acknowledging Him for all He has done, all He is doing, and all He will do.
Looking up to God is living life with the fear of God.
With understanding, look to God to find Him.
Looking up to God is a way of action (faith) that God sees and measures as weight.
Ask God to enable you to be living life by His word.
One who looks up to God is seeking God. Seeking God will know to call upon the Lord God consciously and consistently. 
Psalm 18:4 encourages, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So, shall I be saved from my enemies.”
One who looks up to God will know to keep their eyes on God to experience His hand.
In life, it is the daily challenges that often prevent one from looking up to God. 
Consciously, with commitment, looking up to God with understanding will experience the hand of God that is not short, and such will not fail to see in God.
It is not possible to look up to God with desire and prayerfully not find God.

Prayer for God:  Ask that God will enable you to take your eyes off the challenges of the wicked but to see where He is leading you.