FAITH CAPSULE: In God’s calling upon your life, what are you withholding from God?

Genesis 12

Jesus confirmed, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” What He called us to be is what He meant for. To be light as stated by Jesus is to be Shinning for the glory of God. Answering as light, shinning is rising in response to His calling. Isaiah 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” Answering to the calling of God should not have any reasonable excuse not to answer God. When God calls, He is evidently more than able to back up called one. Rising in obedience is to shine for His glory. Indeed, deep darkness will show to discourage or deny man from rising. However, God is always at work for the heart that desires to rise unto His calling upon creation. God promised in His word that He will rise over the called and His glory would not be denied. Rising in response to the word of God is all that made Abraham. Abraham could not possess all that was promised to him by God until he rose to God’s command. What is keeping you down from rising for the glory of God? In God’s calling upon your life, what are you withholding from God?
Abraham rose for God when God said to him, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Abraham did not hesitate, he did not exercise doubt, neither does he questioned God’s command which sounded in his direction. Are you getting a call which demands from you to rise?
God promised Abraham for his rising, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3) Abraham could have doubted God but he rose and went just as commanded by God. Without doubt, calling demands for a great extent of commitment. Abraham’s commitment to God’s calling made him to possess the promises of God’s calling.
Rise for God, shine for His glory. Commitment to God is not convenient. Commitment for the calling by God is a total obedience to God’s command. Commitment to rise for God is emptying self for God to fill one. Be established for God’s calling; take a position to possess the blessing of God just like Abraham.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to rise for God’s calling upon your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Is negative confession with the manner of complaint before God your pattern?

Numbers 14

What we give ourselves continually will become our pattern in life.
In the face of challenging situation, man should be self-disciplined by not confessing negative with a manner of complaining before God. Confessing negatively can be our way of complaining negatively consciously or unconsciously. The Israelites’ pattern of life was complaining and ended with negative confession stating, “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.  And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:1-4) The negative confession of the Israelites was a complaint before God. Complaint was in response to spy’s report of the Promised Land in Numbers 13:26-29. Negative complaint is not acceptable before God but positive is compliment that is acceptable before God.
Complaining begets rebellion.
Giving to complaining will complicate the journey of life.
When the Israelites were set for journey out of bondage of over four hundred years to God’s Promised Land, complaint was their pattern of life. When negativity becomes a pattern in any journey of life, man is set to complicate journey. The truth is that God is true to perform and perfect His Word but worry, doubt, anxious will lead to complaint and a way of taking God for lie.
Avoiding compliant before God is to be discipline trusting and hoping on God. One that knows to trust and hope in the Lord is in a position to be blessed regardless of challenging situation. Jeremiah 17:7 stated the importance of trusting and hoping, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Calling on God for His intervention is trust; waiting and not doubt is having hope. Man calls on God for intervention but not able to avoid complaining with negative confession. Are you confessing negative in a manner of complaining?
Avoiding complaint before God is the discipline to wait, knowing that God waits to act for those who waits on Him. Isaiah 64:4, encouraged us to wait stating, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” Through the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land, complaint was their pattern of life. Complaint terminated the Israelites and not get to their Promised Land. Our challenges in every journey is to avoid complaint but engage with trusting and hoping; waiting and not worry but worshiping before God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from negative confession and the spirit of complaint before Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Attention is the antidote of jealous of our jealous God.

2 Samuel 22

God is a jealous God. Exodus 20:5 recorded the word of God, “…For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” Attention is the antidote of our jealous God. Praising and thanking God is giving attention to God. Praising God and thanking God is calling on God. Calling on God demands understanding. Understanding is knowing God while knowing about God is the evidence of lack of understanding. It is written, “For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” If praising demands understanding to get God’s attention, giving thanks; calling on God and every way to serve God also demands understanding.
Do you understand to expect with manifestation from God?
It is understanding to know God when calling on God with persistent in waiting for His response with manifestation. Persistently waiting on God by not weary, by not worrying in the place of waiting on God is the evidence of faith. With faith, jealous God is pleased and without faith God is not pleased. (Hebrews 11:6) To be persistent in waiting on God is to know and not lose heart before God. In the Parable of The Persistent Widow, Jesus spoke a parable that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. (Luke18:1-8) God does not go by our own timing but by His appointed time. It is certain to get answer when we call and wait on jealous God. Isaiah 64:4 testified to unfailing God, a jealous God that perfect to perform stating, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.” Call on Him in the day or in the night He is never too busy to ignore your calling. However, if you are too busy outside of waiting on jealous God you should expect to miss the visitation of your jealous’ God for His manifestation.
God is worthy of our praise and our thanks giving. He is the Creator and there is none like Him.
David attested, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (2 Samuel 22:4) David was not entertaining with words but he was gaining entrance into the court of God. David was gaining entrance into the presence of God through praise because it is praise that grants access into His court. It is written, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) Thanksgiving is the route to jealous God’s gate while praise will place man into jealous God’s court. David wanted to get to the court when He declared praise worship for His salvation from his enemies. Praise that is driven by joy (not just mouthful praise) from the depth of heart will get man to His (court) presence.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of understanding to be giving attention to God.

FAITH CAPSULE: In your journey, deny fear to engage faith.

Matthew 14:22-33

Fear is not a respecter of nobody and it will strike a believer or non-believer without warning. Man’s title or position does not keep nobody from the strike of fear. Disciples of Jesus were on a late hour of the day and in the middle of journey on the sea when storm took charge. Storm tossed Jesus’s disciple’s vessel around by wave while fear took charge over the life of disciples. Jesus showed up to rescue them. It is written, “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.” (Matthew 14:25-26) By fear, Peter must have requested for deliverance when he asked Jesus to command him to walk on the water. Jesus responded to Peter’s request by commanding him to come. The Bible recorded, “…and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ (Matthew 14:29-30) Peter, in his obedience to walk a difficult walk (walking on water) made him to take his eyes away from Jesus as he gave his attention to the troubling storm and fear took charge while faith was discharged.
Let the word of God answer for you as a driver of your vessel of journey.  Philippians 4:6-7 admonished us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Anxiousness or anxiety are same bud of fear. Are you living life in anxiousness or in the abundance of God’s word?
Anticipation of the possibility that something hostile will happen is a way of describing fear. Fear is a deadly weapon of the devil. Fear does not discriminate, and it will strike regardless of man’s title or age. Fear will always take the center stage in man’s life when faith is off the stage. Knowing the devil as a deceptive one, fear often sneaks into man by the way of concern or anxiety.
The Bible warned, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) David testified, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) David did not run where he needed to walk because he knew his God. Those who know their God operates with understand that the word and the hand of God is failure impossibility over their life. Do you know your God to trust Him not to run where you are to walk?

Prayer for today: Ask God for the boldness and character of God to established in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be encouraged to engage Him for His healing touch.

Luke 18:1-30

Be encouraged to engage Him for your miracle because He cares. God is the same yesterday and forever. He has never changed and that is why He alone is the unchanging changer. Deuteronomy 10:17 described God, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. God is not a partial God but He is persistent in His caring for those who care to wait on Him.” Indeed, it is how much you know Him (not how much you know about Him) that will determine how much you seek Him for His visitation in any area your life for His answer.
Unquestionably, God alone is God that visits man because He is mindful of man. Have you stopped calling on Him when it seems your answer is being delayed? Jesus encouraged us to be persistent when waiting for God’s answer. In Jesus’ Parable of the persistent widow answer located the widow woman. (Luke 18) In times of need from God, to stop praying without answer at from God is the evidence of a shutdown faith.
Do not stop asking. God does not fail, God alone sees all and hears all at the same time. If you will be persistent in looking up with hope answer shall come for you. God will not look away from you. He will touch you just as He touched the leper that went to Him as stated in Matthew 8:2-3, “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Look up to Him in your heart knowing fully that God is a gracious God and will answer at His appointed time. In the same chapter, it is written that through touching, Peter’s mother-in-law was free from the sickness of fever. Matthew 8:14-15, “Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.” The word of God encourages us to put Him in remembrance (Isaiah 43:26). Today, look up to Him and remind Him concerning the miracle that is in His touching. It is encouraging to trust Him for His deliverance and healing. God is still visiting and caring for His children. It is not enough to know about God but to know Him and be encouraged to engage Him for His healing touch. God is a faithful God to perform and perfect.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to be a failure to wait persistently.