FAITH CAPSULE: The grace of breathing is the evidence of life.

Psalm 104

To be alive is a privilege it is not a right; to be alive is of mercy and it is not a thing of merit. Think of it, you are not just alive but you are able to see the light of a new day. Your eyes are functioning, your legs are not stagnated, and your mind is in right condition…what is it that is keeping you down and not open your mouth wide and render a glorious praise unto Him. What is it that has qualified you and does not qualify others from seeing the light of a new day? Have you in your acclaimed right mind go before Him and appreciate Him for the grace of a new day rather than laying plans of a new day for yourself?
The psalmist praised, “O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” (Psalm 104:1-4) It is a wise move for man to take just a line out of the above scriptural verses and meditate on it all day long. He alone is more than worthy of all praise and adoration.
It is written, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150:6) God alone is worthy of our praise and thanks. He is the God of miracle. God deserves a boastful praise and not only a contemplative (thoughtful or reflective) praise. The word of God states, “I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10) Open your mouth wide in praise and allow God to raise you beyond your expectation. Praise Him today, tomorrow and as long as there is breathe. Do you not know that miracle is a blessing or do you not realize it fully that it is blessing to have a miracle? Whichever way it is twisted, make it a top priority of your day to carry Him along in your meditation that He blesses and add no sorrow. (Proverbs 10:22) By that virtue, know it that you shall know no evil but the goodness of the Lord God shall continually be your portion. Praising Him before all that is before you will invite Him to all that are set before you. He is a miracle working God.

Prayer for today: Let not the joy of salvation cease in my life. Thank you for the grace of salvation.

FAITH CAPSULE: Having a good conscience is a purpose of God’s command.

John 8:1-12, Acts 24

1Timothy 1:5-6, “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.” Ones that love with pure heart strive for good conscience and they are the ones with sincere faith. It is not possible to claim faith (as many in the church do) and not have a good conscience. Conscience is the sense of right and wrong that governs a person’s thoughts and actions. Conscience is what convicts man to turn man from what is not right. Lying, deception and manipulation are the identities of church and it is the evidence of one that lacks conscience. It is lack of conscience that causes a believer to live life in empty pride consciously or unconsciously.
The Pharisees brought a woman that was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus hoping for a judgment that calls for stoning her according to the Law of Moses. Jesus responded, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) The book John 8:9 documented the reaction of the people, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one…”
Paul in his defense before Felix made it known in his statement that conscience is what we strive for. Paul stated, “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” (Acts 24:16) Having conscience without offence toward God and man is a good conscience. It is living according to the purpose of command. Daniel testified to it as a way of overcoming evil that was set against man. After Daniel has been through whole night in the lion’s den with his life intact, the King approached the den where Daniel spent night with hungry lions saying, “…Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20)  Daniel spoke back to the King, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:21-22)

Paul’s testimony and Daniel’s testimony is a confirmation that striving for good conscience before man and God works for man’s deliverance. Paul identified how he strived for good conscience with God and man. By Daniel’s word, it is clear that Daniel did not do wrong before the king and God.
Consciously examine your conscience today and be of good conscience which is pleasing to God. Ones that are misplacing the purpose of God’s command are set to be displaced and not experience God in their challenge.

Prayer for today: Ask God to bestow upon you and be able to live life with good conscience.

FAITH CAPSULE: Give yourself to pleasing God, be committed and remain connected.

Numbers 32

Commitment is to bind to law or to consign to a position. In life, every time we consigned to others negative opinion we withdraw our commitment to engage that which is positive. As an acclaimed believer do you compromise what God commanded or you are committed to His command?  The Israelites could not commit to God’s promise when they withdraw to that which they considered convenient.
The Children of Gad and Reuben were set to settle for East side of the Jordan when God wanted them to cross the Jordan and establish them. They wanted the convenience of East side of the Jordan.
Numbers 32: 1-7 documented, “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,  the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 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.” And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?  Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?” God promised land that flows with milk and honey but they wanted to settle for land with milk. The bible stated it that the children of Gad had a great multitude of livestock and when they recognized that the region was good for livestock (the source of milk) their commitment to go forward and engage the full promise of God for the land with milk honey suffered.
The request of the children of Gad was a discouragement to their brethren from going forward. Moses compared the request to same as the spy’s report at Kadesh Barnea when the children of Israel were discouraged (except for Caleb and Joshua). The discouragement led to complaint and they were terminated in the wilderness. In that action God’s anger was provoked. (Numbers 32:10-12) One that is not committed cannot continue in the journey of life where challenges constantly challenge. Commitment is not convenient, it is a sacrifice. One that is not committed will compromise the word of God. Also, one that is not committed to the word of God will doubt, doubt breeds fear and fear relegates faith. The Bible says without faith God is not pleased. (Hebrews 11:6) Give yourself to pleasing God, be committed and remain connected.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be committed to God.

FAITH CAPSULE: is to make a dishonorable or shameful concession.

1 Samuel 2:12-36

Compromise will corrupt man’s journey in life because it violate man before God. It is demonstration of lack fear of God for man to embrace evil. As an acclaimed believer, do you not know that, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13) To embrace evil is a self-disengagement from God. If a man will consciously and consistently despise evil and not admire what is evil based.
Are you one that settles for what is not acceptable before God? When you are carried along where you suppose to refuse or disagree against act of ungodliness you positioned yourself to become corrupted.
The bible recorded about the corruption of the sons of Eli in 1 Samuel 2:12-15, “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt;they did not know the Lord.  And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.  Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” They did not know God but they actively engaged themselves in the sacrifices which they should not be part of. Eli knew about their evil acts but did not restrain them. Refrain from evil acts by refusing to embrace it. 1 Samuel 2:17 recorded that their sin (sons of Eli) was great before the Lord. There was no one to stop the evil acts of the sons of Eli.
When God called on Samuel, at a young age, God identified to Samuel the sin and judgment of Eli stating, “In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.” (1 Samuel 3:12-13) When man is position to act against evil and failed to act, the failure not to act will count against man and corrupt man’s destiny. Come out of all the evil which you know about; refrain from being carried along if you cannot correct it. Eli compromised and his destiny was corrupted.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace not to be a victim of the spirit that causes man to compromise with any form of evil.

FAITH CAPSULE: It can take longer or shorter than expected when there is a need to wait for God’s intervention.

Psalm 40

Jesus was sharing the Parable of the Persistent Widow when he stated, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:18) In the parable, He was pointing out the need to be persistent which demands waiting on God even when answer seems to be impossible.
To be waiting on God is evidence of having faith. You can only obey God when you believe Him. Man’s believe in God is demonstrated by waiting on Him. Ones that are able to obey, believe and wait are the faithful ones. All that it takes to identify what it means to believe, obey and wait is encased in the life of Abraham. Hebrews 11: 8-10 testified, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” As it is clear in the verses, Abraham is a faithful one: By faith Abraham obeyed; by faith he dwelt in the land of promise. He demonstrated his faith (believe) by waiting.
Are you waiting on God concerning any area of life? Waiting on God is timeless. It can take longer than expected or shorter than expected when there is a need to wait for God’s intervention or when we are waiting to hear from God. The waiting that takes “Mr. A” a short time before getting answer can take “Mr. B” a longer time to get his answer from God. One thing is certain, where there is a waiting before God none can wait and become wasted. God never fail because time is in His hand and He can answer at the first hour or at the eleventh hour. Although man controls his own clock but God is God and no one controls the timing of God.
David testified in Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” King David, in his waiting, it is evident that he kept on praying when he stated, “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink…” (Psalm 69:13-14) Prayer and expectation is the anchor of waiting and David demonstrated it. Wait patiently, He will answer you.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you that your faith will not fail.