FAITH CAPSULE: Are you loving by your standard or by God’s standard?

1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4

Knowing the word of God is knowing God while knowing about God is not knowing God. In the word of God is God’s commandment and the purpose of God’s commandment is love. Loving as commanded by God is knowing God. Loving is rooted in having faith in God. One that loves as commanded by God does have faith in God. In the world today, is there love the evidence of faith? Wickedness reigns all over the world in the place of love. Interestingly, Jesus asked, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Search self and identify if living life in commandment of God is demonstrated by loving. Loving as commanded by God is having faith. Word of God recorded, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1John 4:7-8) Do you know God? Do you love as commanded by God? Are you looking forward to the coming back of Jesus and not miss out when He comes?
Love as commanded by God is crucial not to miss heaven.
God gave His commandment so that love can exist among man. A brother who abstains from stealing, lying or deceiving his brother demonstrates love. Loving in God’s way is God’s love. We cannot love in our own way but by God’s standard. The book of 1Timothy 1:5 identified standard of God’s love, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk.” Loving by God’s standard is not common especially in a world where man is full of self. Claiming to love without loving with pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith is empty love. In a world where living life is without good conscience love is evidently not a way of living life. In a world where man is desperately concerned about self, engaging others with sincere faith is a strange thing. Are you loving by your standard or as commanded by the word of God?
Among the gift of God, love is the greatest gift. Love should be considered as the anchor which every other gift holds on to and when love is not there fulfilling the command of God is impossible. Paul the apostle clearly drew out the importance of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Have faith by loving as commanded by God is profitable.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to love according to His standard.

FAITH CAPSULE: Challenges comes with answering to God’s calling.

2 Timothy 2

It is written, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4) As a believer that is called by God for heaven’s assignment, the called one shall answer as a soldier of Jesus with no escape from challenges. It is not an error to call challenges, hardship or affliction as identity of a believer who walks in line with God. Challenges comes with answering to God’s calling, but it is certain that called shall become an overcomer by focusing on God the only Caller of man. However, no matter how challenges persist, believers indeed and in truth shall never be in line to fail, fall or falter. God who calls man is more than able to keep and deliver those that are called. This is not to say a believer should go out and begin to look for troubling challenges where there is none. Without doubt, it is for a believer to know and be encouraged that the challenge of today is nothing above God who is above.
Jeremiah is one of God called but challenges were not separated from his calling. God called Jeremiah for a divine assignment and warned Jeremiah, “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.””(Jeremiah 1:19) By God’s warning for Jeremiah, God’s calling does not give immunity against the fight of wicked ones (challenges). When God calls there will be fighting to put up against the enemy. However, those that are truly called shall never be defeated by the enemy.
Has he called you and challenges have been roughing you in your journey of life? The remarkable thing is that God is God and He will always have His way. God could have called Jeremiah for a challenge or trouble-free assignment, but He chooses not to. God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. Same God that backed Jeremiah up against all which fought against Jeremiah is certain to back you up. Challenges, afflictions and hardship are always going to show when God calls but the called ones should know that many are the afflictions of the righteous in the journey of life, but God shall deliver in all. (Psalm 34:19)
In life, it is not enough to answer God’s calling but fail to finish the assignment of calling. Certainly, know that you are called by God not by man. In your knowing, gain understanding that, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24) Challenges will come, and you shall be delivered.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s grace to enable your calling by God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Ones that keep the testimonies of God live by the ways of God.

Jonah 1

It is written, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) The ways of God are in the word of God. The words of God are the acts of God while His acts are His direction and His testimonies. Living life in the word of God is living in the ways of God. Also living in the acts of God is living by keeping the testimonies of God. Man should never live life in assumptions that seems right. The bible stated, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Are you allowing assumptions to take you for ride in the journey of life?
Just like Moses, those that walk in the ways of God walks in His law and they are blessed. Psalm119:1 buttressed, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Ones that keep the testimonies of God live by the ways of God and they are blessed. Psalm 119:2 also buttressed, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.” The word of God cannot be broken. Get to know His way, keep His acts that are His testimonies to enable you to seek Him diligently. For those who seek Him diligently, the word of God promised, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” (Proverbs 8:17) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) As an acclaimed believer, embrace His ways and meditate His acts to become a diligent seeker of the Lord God.
Are you answering to your calling? When the Lord calls you, is rest assured that, God does not call anyone to hide. Those that hide are those who turn their back to Him. Those that hide are those who walk away from His presence.
It is time to answer fully to the word (way) of God and not turn to your way. Jonah turned to his way despite hearing from God and the presence of God deserted Him. It is written, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord…” (Jonah 1:1-3) God has made His ways and acts known to us and it is for us to engage it and have testimonies for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His grace to constantly turn you and return you to God.

Faithful Capsule: It is good to be comfortable but not to substitute God’s promise.

Numbers 32

Giving self to world’s comfort over giving self for commitment to God will deny or derail man from God’s plan. In the journey of life, desire for living comfortable is encased in commitment to God. However, when man make the choice of world comfort ahead of commitment to God’s direction in the journey of life, one is set not to arrive at the center of God’s divine agenda. God, in His goodness and mercy brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of over four hundred years with plan to settle them in the Promised Land. It is written, “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8) God wanted to place the Israelites from bondage to abundance when He promised them a land which flows with milk and honey. In the place of giving self to commitment of God’s promise, the children of Gad and of Reuben turned to comfort at the East of Jordan. The children of Gad and of Reuben had a very great multitude of livestock and that prompted a request for a settlement in the East of Jordan which was a place for livestock, a place limited to milk not milk and honey as promised by God.
Children of Gad and of Reuben’s lack of understanding of God’s plan prompted choice to wander from the way of God’s promise for land that flows with milk and honey. Are you attempting to wander from the way of understanding gained from the word of God? Proverbs 21:16 admonished, “A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.”
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben approached Moses and stated their desire, “…the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel,is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.’ Therefore they said, ‘If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.’” (Numbers 32:4-5) It is clear that where there is livestock milk will flow, but not honey. God promised a land flowing with milk and honey, but the children of Gad and of Reuben attempted to settle for their own comfort land. The land which flowed with milk was a comfortable choice over milk and honey. It is good to be comfortable but not at the expense of God’s command which demands our commitment. Placing our comfort above God’s command is a direct avenue to becoming insensitive to the move of the Spirit of God. Spiritual insensitivity will reduce and not increase a believer. Are you operating the mind of the children of Gad and Reuben as you engage your journey to the Promised Land? Disallow comfort from clouding your commitment to God’s command.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from lack of understanding commitment to God’s promise for your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: what are you giving back to God?

Genesis 22

God the perfect creator is a true giver. King David’s testimony of God as a true giver stated, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4) By virtue of David testimony, evidently, God loves us. In God’s love is God’s giving to man. God gave us is beloved One for our salvation stating, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17) In other places, Jesus, the beloved is identified as the gift of God. Romans 5:18, recorded, “…even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” Jesus is the indescribable gift of God to man.
To God the good giver, what are you giving back to God?
What is it that you are set to get rid but turn to as gift for God? It can be a wrong gift! God deserves our best as gift and giving self to God for His glory is a worthy gift. Think of it, can a door be opened with a finger? When a man is giving gift to God with one finger instead of a whole hand (whole heart) the chances to an open door is limited. Giving gift to God with a finger is like giving without the whole heart. God is the giver of all and He alone can take all away. It is more than worthy to always give back to God with all heart. Man must understand and know to always give to God in His name and not in any man’s name.  Are you giving back to God by mouth or giving to Him by Heart? Answer to the question will no doubt determine believer’s journey on earth. Abraham’s gave to God with his whole heart which is the evidence of his love for God.
God called Abraham to deliver a sacrificial offering, “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:1-2) Without hesitation, Abraham delivered his offering to God. Abraham’s obedience allowed Abraham to have an open door of communication from above.
Offering delivered gift without hesitation is the evidence of cheerful giving to God.
In all your giving, give back to God cheerfully.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of giving cheerfully in all of your giving.