FAITH CAPSULE: With confusion there is no connection with Christ.

Mark 10:46-52

Celebrating the birth of Jesus is good but to lack the understanding of celebrating His birth is bad. Celebrating the birth of Jesus every day with knowledge is the purpose to gain and attain the life abundantly which Jesus brought for man. Abundant life which Jesus brought extends from earth to eternal life. When there is understanding and knowledge of His coming there will be reason to believe in celebrating the birth of Jesus every day but not just a glamorous day of celebration. God has a plan and purpose for man’s life in Jesus which is the plan and purpose of God’s salvation for man. Gaining understanding to live life in the purpose of God for man.
Who do you say Jesus is in your life?
Many only know about Him and celebrate His birth religiously without Christ reality. Glamorous celebration of His birth is with confusion. With confusion there is no connection with Christ. The ones that know Him know the name to call on. In this season of celebration, settle down to seek and get to know Him; come out of religion and take on Christ reality. Jesus Christ is the Lord and savior, He is Jesus (Yahweh saves), Immanuel (God with us), Light of the World (One who brings hope and gives guidance) Chief Shepherd (one that gives guidance and protection) Chief Cornerstone (A sure foundation of life). Seek Him by celebrating Him every moment.
It is interesting sorry to know with wonder that why is it so easy for man to know about the birth Jesus and fully engage in celebrating His birth and not work the works of God which He brought? The central part of His coming is for man to work the works of God. The book of John 6:8-9 clearly answered to what it means to work the works of God. Jesus was asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” and He responded, “…This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Many received the story of how He was born, they embraced it and celebrate it glamorously but do not consider working the works of God. Working the works of God is to believe in Him (to be living life according to His word).
Coming of Jesus is the love of God sent to man. It is written, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18) Work the works of God, celebrate Christ with reality; come out religion; eliminate world that denies living for God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to enable living life for God indeed and in truth.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you celebrating the birth of Jesus without the type of God’s love

John 10:1-21

Huge population celebrating the birth of Jesus is same as huge population attending church services to worship God without living life which impact the world positively. Jesus addressed the issue of impacting life, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” (Matthew 5:14) Jesus also stated, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Ones with belief celebrating Jesus’ birth should be light or salt with positive impaction over the world. Rather, being busy with glamorous celebration is the way of celebrating birth of Jesus. Glamorous celebration is lack of understanding. Knowing about God is different from knowing God. Majority does not have understanding why Jesus came. Jesus declared why He came, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) One with understanding of the coming of Jesus is in position to have life abundantly without fail to inherit eternal life.
With understanding, it is good to be celebrating the birth of Jesus continually by doing all things which glorifies the name of God. Glamorous celebration comes in December and last through the end of December. After December celebration of Jesus’ birth, living life for God becomes irrelevant to celebrants.
Celebrating the birth of Jesus should be centered on self-question such as, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Such reasonable question will enable man to keep focus on God, avoiding not to miss eternal life. A certain lawyer asked Jesus, “…Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25) Jesus responded to the certain lawyer by asking him of his reading of commandment’s understanding. The certain lawyer answered Jesus correctly, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27) The lawyer answered Jesus correctly, but he wanted to know who is his neighbor. Jesus responded with the parable of the good Samaritan’s love for a stranger as his neighbor.
Celebrating the birth of Jesus should be a true love for Jesus and such love should be extended to neighbor or stranger. Unfortunately, man’s love for Jesus and love for neighbor is a conditional love. Man celebrate with love which pleases man but not to please God. Celebrating the birth of Jesus without the type of God’s love will cause man not to inherit eternal life.
A faithful believer will live life loving God and neighbors. Without love is the evidence of lack faith. Interestingly Jesus questioned, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Jesus’ coming is for glorious celebration not a glamorous celebration. Be a reasonable celebrant of the birth of Jesus!

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of understanding to fully follow Jesus.

FAITH CAPSULE: Man takes distance from Jesus, but Jesus remains closer to man.

Genesis 37

Have you been forsaken where you are looking forward to being embraced? It can be emotional exhausting or exceedingly discouraging when man encounters disengagement in the place where is to be embraced. Among the best way to describe forsaken experience is in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Israel (Jacob) called on his son Joseph to go and see if it is well with his brothers and the flocks. Jacob expected Joseph to go and return with word, but Joseph walked into unexpected journey which led to divine assignment for his life.
Bible recorded brothers of Joseph response at the approach of Joseph to them, “Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” (Genesis 37:18-20)
Joseph went forward to his brothers in peace while the brothers responded with bitterness and wicked agenda. Imagine the brothers and Joseph, all raised under the same roof with same training from the same father. They all played, ate, drank and worked together yet they conspired against their younger brother because of his dream.
Jesus came for man with demonstration of unfailing love. Jesus came with agenda to give life abundantly to all man. At His time, man conspired against Him, today man still conspires against Him. Word of God is true as documented in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Despite wicked ways of man, the birth of Jesus is a top-notch celebration at every month of December by man. At celebration of Jesus’ birth, man is full of self-agenda with lack of understand to receive and believe in Jesus as Lord and savior. What is holding man back from living life for God in the name of Jesus? Certainly, God does not sleep nor slumber. God watches over every agenda of man under heaven. Man takes distance from Jesus, but Jesus remains closer to man waiting to act for man that will make the choice to wait on Him.
The brothers of Jesus were desperately wicked and when he got to his brothers, “…they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it” (Genesis 37: 23-24)
Are you responding to Jesus just like the brothers of Joseph’s response to Joseph? The story of Joseph is the evidence that God watched over Joseph and He is still watching today. Seek God, give life to Jesus in your celebration.

Prayer for the day: Ask for Jesus’ abundance life for man to answer in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The kind of love that counts before God is not seasonal celebration of the birth of Jesus.

1 John 4

The kind of love that counts before God is the kind of love that qualifies man not to miss heaven. Is it the magnitude of seasonal celebration of the birth of Jesus that testifies man’s love for God? To fear God is to love God, living by His word continually is the kind of love that counts before God but not seasonal celebration of the birth of Jesus. Claiming the love for God is obeying His commandments. Apostle Paul pointed out the purpose of God’s commandment, “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.” (1Timothy 1:5-6) Apostle Paul was talking about love that counts before God, the kind of love that is worthy to provoke God’s attention to acknowledge one for good.
Love of man under heaven is a love manufactured by man to attain self-interest not God centered love. Man’s love is not the kind of love which counts before God. Under heaven, love manufactured by man is not a pure heart love which rampant and lack of good conscience love. Love manufactured by man is not rooted in faith. Imagine husband, wife, children, extended family, neighbors and all are running around shopping for gift in celebration of Jesus without existence of God’s love among each other. Without God’s love all are not living life for God’s glory? The word of God stated, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1John 4:20) Does that sound like you?
Man is a mess as agent of wickedness deceiving loving among self. God is true in His testimony about man under heaven as stated in Genesis 6:5-7, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” There is no evil in celebrating the birth of Jesus. However, man is celebrating with lack of understanding and it relegates before God but not elevate man for the glory of God. Celebrating Jesus should be a non-stop as long there is breath of life. God cannot be deceived and that is the reason God why man should seek Him diligently. Seek God with understanding by loving Him without condition. It is written, “1 John 4:8, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love.”  Celebrate Christ reality not celebrating religion.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of understanding and not become a victim of ignorant.

FAITH CAPSULE: Get out of story celebration, get into Christ reality.

John 10

The coming of Jesus is being named, “The Greatest Story that was told.” Indeed, majority inside and outside of church, the acclaimed believers of Jesus only know about Jesus’ story and not know Jesus. Celebration of Jesus as story is clouding man to only know about and not know Jesus’ as source of living life abundantly. Jesus stated the reason of His coming, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11)
Is celebrating of Jesus’ story limiting you from knowing Jesus? To know Jesus is to be occupied by the reason of Jesus’ coming. What is causing you to have doubt instead of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? With doubt fear will eventually come to place. Where there is fear or when fear is rising, faith will sink. Lack of understanding the coming of Jesus is the evidence of knowing about. Get to know Jesus to deny doubt from living life abundantly as stated by Jesus.
Imagine John the Baptist’s doubt in Jesus. It is written, “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) John the Baptist was in prison of SELF-DOUBT. John was not sure of knowing Jesus but questioned as a certified one that only know about Jesus. It was John that baptized Jesus but did not know Jesus but knew about Jesus. It is written, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him” (Matthew 3:13) 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 that, “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) John the Baptist knew about Jesus, when he was in the prison of his life, he doubted Jesus. Remember, you have heard about Jesus and if you will hold on to all that you have known you will depart from doubt. Jesus’ responded to John’s doubt, speaks to all with 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 up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Mathew 11:4-6) Get out of story celebration, get into Christ reality to declare Jesus is Lord over your challenge.

Prayer for today: Ask for grace of God to bring you out of the prison of doubt.