FAITH CAPSULE: The spirit of lies and doubt follows to deny, derail or destroy.

John 20:19-30

TELLING LIES FOLLOWS TO DERAIL
Sapphira and Annanias were the victims of telling lies.
Before God, there is no major or minor matter of telling lies without consequence.
When telling lies becomes a character, there will be no escape from the consequences.
Often, telling lies can be prompted without warning or not, to engage it.
There is no excuse for telling lies before God.
Acts 5:1-3 documents the termination of the lives of Sapphira and Ananias, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?”
There is nothing hidden from the sight of God.
Any violation of God prompts consequences.
Is telling lies a character following you consciously or unconsciously?
Acts 5:5 records the response to the telling of lies of Sapphira and Ananias, “Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last.” (Acts 5:5)
Sapphira and Annanias lied before God and paid the consequence of telling lies.
The last lies followed them to the grave might not be the first of their telling lies.
Searching oneself to deny what follows, that is not of God, must be separated, not to become a victim.
One who sins follows shall be far from God, just as Romans 3:8 states, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “
What follows one, that is not of God, is an agenda of the devil to reduce or terminate arrival to the promise of God.
DOUBT FOLLOWS TO DERAIL.
Doubting is presenting oneself as faithless in the presence of God.
Demonstrating the understanding that doubting is not of God, but a spirit that reduces one from gaining the presence of God.
Among the opposites of doubt are faith, belief, and confidence.
Doubt lacks the trust or conviction to rely on God.
Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, walked with Jesus before Jesus went on the cross.
Thomas saw the miracles done by Jesus while He was with them
When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, he doubted the resurrection of Jesus.
When the disciples testify to Thomas about the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas responded, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
The spirit of doubt followed Thomas.
Doubt is a killer, physically or spiritually.
One doubts follows knowingly or unknowingly, is not free, but becomes a slave to what follows.
Whatever it is that is not of God but follows, or one follows, can delay, derail, or deny arriving at the center of divine assignment for God.

Prayer for today:  Pray not to be a victim of telling lies and doubt.

FAITH CAPSULE: Whatever follows you that is not of God wants to deny you for the promise of God.

Exodus 32

THE CASE OF MOSES: ANGER FOLLOWED MOSES
Anger followed Moses to the point that he failed to step on the promise of God.
The evidence of the anger of Moses to kill when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 
Moses assumed no one was looking at him, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (Exodus 2)
The spirit of anger in Moses prompted him repeatedly not to step into the Promise of God.
Exodus 32:19 records the anger of Moses, “when he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.”
The anger of Moses, in reaction to the sin of the Israelites, caused him to break the tablets written by the finger of God.
The error of Moses stemmed from his anger toward the Israelites, who were crying and complaining about the lack of water.
God commanded Moses to speak:
Gather the congregation of the Israelites.
Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water.
Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together at the rock.
Moses spoke (God did not ask him to speak rudely to the people), “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Moses struck the rock twice with his rod (instead of speaking), and water came out abundantly.
Moses engaged the direction of God halfway, not fully. Half obedience is a full disobedience to the word of God.
Numbers 20:12 records the disobedience of Moses,“Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Getting angry in any form or for any reason does not excuse sinning before God.
Moses could not arrive at the promise of God for his life.
FAILURE TO FEAR GOD IS FAILURE TO FOLLOW GOD
FEAR FOLLOWED THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS
Fear that is not of God does not respect or announce or inform before it takes over in the life of its victim.
Imagine the disciples who followed Jesus but eventually demonstrated fear in their lives when Jesus went to the cross.
For example, Peter demonstrated the spirit of fear, crowded his life.
Jesus let Peter know he would deny Him, but Peter vehemently told Jesus he would not deny Him. (Matthew 14:27-50)
Jesus prayed that faith would uphold Peter not to become a victim of fear.
Luke 22:32 records the prayer of Jesus for Peter,“But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Without doubt, when faith rises, fear will sink.
The fear of this world will prevent one from fully following God and not arrive at the promise of God.

Prayer for today:  Ask for the hand of God over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is the will of God for all His creation to live for His glory.

Exodus 8

It is a responsibility to gain an understanding of why living.
In life, having understanding will determine how far to walk with or before God.
It is how one understands God that determines whether to follow God, living for the glory of God.
Those who walked with God followed God rightly.
Enoch walked with God, with no wrongdoing, until God took him. (Genesis 5:26)
Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, who walked with God. (Genesis 9:10-11)
Abraham walked before God. (Genesis 17:1)
Walking with God, walking before God, is walking in Him.
The word of God points out that walking with God, walking before God, is walking in Him. Colossians 2:6 confirms, “As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”
How is your walk that God knows?
Walking with God, walking before God, or walking in Him is living for God.
Revelation 4:11 reveals that all His creation lives for Him, exists for Him.
Revelation 4:11 records “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.”
Living for God, existing for God, is following Him, to follow Him, to walk worth for His glory.
Follow God as His disciple.
As His disciple is not to live a life of waste.
Not to follow God as His disciples is disobedience to His word.
Disobedience to the word of God is disregarding God.
Disregard for the word of God is bound to be destroyed and not be built up by God (word of God).
Psalm 28:5 speaks to all, “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up.”
Are you giving regard to God in all your ways of life?
Search yourself to know if you are following Him or not following Him.
One who follows wrongly is the same as not following Him.
One set to live for God, called by God, or with the attempt to follow God, is bound to be in a position for the devil with the attempt to deny one following God.
Evidently, where God or what God sets for good is what the devil also intervenes to derail, so as not to live for the glory of God.
What one follows or what is following one consciously or unconsciously is with an agenda to derail, not to arrive at the divine assignment of God.
What follows you, or you follow not to live for the glory of God?
What follows one against the will of one will pose a threat like a slave master.
Like a slave master, what follows will be established by taking away freedom.
One without the ability to free oneself from what is not of God is evil to deny the arrival at serving God as a way of life.

Prayer for today: Ask against forces that are not of God, that shall not have a place in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The right place to be is in the secret place of God.

Psalm 91

Psalm 27:5 states, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
Through the pages of the Bible, it is clear that the word of God is His secret.
For example, God created all by His word.
Amos 3:7 records, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
His word is His secret for those who do not serve Him.
Those who serve Him are in place to know the secret and live by His secret.
Fear God constantly and consistently to dwell in His secret place.
Psalm 91:1 records, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” 
Interestingly, anyone who chooses to dwell in the secret place of the Most High?
One who gains a position in the secret place is supposed to become directed and preserved by God.
The word of God is God, and His shadow is of Him.
Know how to become secure under His shadow. 
However, the secret place of the Most High is not a physical place nor as in a church building.
One who fears God has a place in the presence of God. 
Psalm 25:14 admonishes, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”
Know to fear God and gain a dwelling and abiding in the secret of God.Among the blessings of dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God is uncommon protection in the face of confronting challenges. 
To be under the watchful eye of God that is not visible to the naked eye is to be in His secret place. 
Do you fear God indeed and in truth, or do you fear Him just at your mouth? 
What does it mean to fear God? 
To fear the Lord is to love the Lord.  
God wants all to love Him because He is love. 
Deuteronomy 30:6 buttresses,“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” 
To fear the Lord is to love Him.
To love Him is to live for the glory of God. 
Those who dwell in the fear of God are in His secret place. 
One cannot fear God today and not fear Him tomorrow, the character of dwelling and abiding.
Fear God continually, expecting to dwell in the secret place of the Most High. 
Dwelling in a secret place demands living constantly and consistently in the fear of God. 
Without the fear of the Lord, there will be no abiding in the secret place of the Most High. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to put His fear in your heart so that you may abide under the shadow of the Most High. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Is your mind occupied with doubt?

Mathew 11

Having doubt is evidence of not being positioned to hear and hear the word of God.
What is it that is causing you to have doubt instead of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? 
With doubt, fear rises while faith sinks.  
The Bible identifies the source of faith, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) 
Do not hear the word of God once in a while.
Engage in hearing and hearing by the word of God, and allow faith to rise so that fear will sink and doubt will have no place in you. 
Having fear outside of God is giving oneself to a slave master.
What is it in your mind holding you down?
When fear strikes the mind, there is a need to surrender oneself to faith, thereby gaining freedom from it.
Deny your present situation and location from operating as an agent that causes you to doubt.
John the Baptist doubted Jesus. 
The Bible records, “And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3) 
Is there any representative of prison in your life, causing doubt about what Jesus can do? 
John the Baptist, while spending time in prison, doubted Jesus. 
It was John who baptized Jesus. 
Matthew 3:13 records, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.”  
John the Baptist bears witness of Jesus, “…Behold. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.”’ (John 1:29-30) 
John also exalted Jesus when he stated, “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.” (John 3:31) 
Despite all that John the Baptist knew about Jesus, he doubted Jesus. 
Remember, you have heard and seen it all; if you hold on to all you know, you will depart from doubt and not dwell in it. 
Jesus responded to the doubt of John, and His word addressed doubts, “…Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Mathew 11:4-6) 
Where there is doubt, faith tends to drown.
Hebrews 11:6 records, “…But without faith, it is impossible to please Him…” 
With faith, declare to your situation that Jesus is Lord and there is nothing He cannot do. 

Prayer for today: Ask that you be enabled to focus on God so that your faith will not fail.