FAITH CAPSULE: Faith is the key to further and not falter.

Joshua 6

God promised the Israelites to take them to the Promised Land but at a point in time of the journey the enemy stood against the promised in attempt to deny them their passage to God’s promise. All that the Israelites needed to hear for their passage was to receive what it takes to pass through. It is written, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.  And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:1-2) Without doubt or questioning, by faith, Joshua received the word of God that granted them their passing through. Until one begins to see in the word it becomes impossible to receive the promise of God. What the word of God says to you let it stays in you to receive and possess His promise. The faith to be able to see in the absence of nothing provokes the grace to receive from the word of God. It was faith that delivered strength to Sarah at her old age to conceive and give birth to Isaac.
It is written, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:11) Without doubt, receiving and possessing the promises in the word of God is in having faith. At an old age, when it was impossible to have a child, Sarah did not doubt but received the promise that she would have a child. The word she received gave her the strength to conceive. The strength to do the impossible is through faith in the word of God. The secret behind receiving and making the word of God to manifest is in being simple at heart. Psalm 119:130 encouraged us by stating, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” Understanding that God is light is only for those who are simple and able to receive the word and hope in the word. The simple at heart are none other than those who believe. Proverbs 14:15 revealed, “The simple believe every word…” Sarah settled in her heart that God would perform it. Sarah heard the word and saw, it strengthened her and she was strengthened. It is faith that will make a believer identify a word in the scripture that addresses challenges without any back up plan but with trust in the word of God.
Faith is the key to further and not falter regardless of any challenging situation for failure.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be constantly faithful when His word sounds in your direction.

FAITH CAPSULE: When you lift eyes up to Him He will look down to lift you up.

Psalm 121

Psalm 121:1, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?” Where or who have you been lifting your eyes to? Abraham lifted his eyes whenever God called. He lifted his eyes when direction was needed and when there was a need of support from above. It is an act of faith to know to lift your eyes unto God even when it seems like you have walked past your blessing. It can be assumed that Abraham walked past the ram that had been provided for the sacrifice because it is stated in Genesis 22:13, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.” The ram was behind him, but in his looking up he was able to see the ram. When a believer is lifting eyes up to God, there will be no reason to expect help from another source. Who are you looking up to? From the depth of your heart, allow God to be the only One to look up to. God discerns the heart; He knows you and your heart because your heart is in His hands. It is written, “… For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.”(1Samuel 2:3)

It was time for God to step in with a ram for the sacrificial offering because Abraham had clearly and distinctively demonstrated that his heart was made up for God’s command to use Isaac for the sacrificial offering. When a believer is able to lift up eyes unto the Lord, such a believer will be above and beyond in every area of expectation. Abraham lifted his eyes and looked up as it was his custom and God provided for Abraham on the mount of ‘God shall provide’. God provided a ram for Abraham where he had passed through so he would get to where God was taking him. The word says the ram was behind Abraham and there was no indication that he saw the ram. It could have been that Abraham’s focus on using Isaac as requested by God caused him to pass the ram and not see it until God called his attention to it. Instead of Abraham looking behind without God’s direction, he looked up to God as was his custom in seeking direction. When looking up to God becomes a custom in a believer’s life, it is a proven character of God to respond with uncommon testimony. Abraham had a custom of looking up to God and uncommon testimonies answered for him in all his ways.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be constant and consistently focus on God.

FAITH CAPSULE: What does Praising and thanking God means to you?

1 Chronicles 16

Praising and thanking God is calling on God. David, a man with exceptional way of worshiping God was identified as a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) Evidently, learning from David is a way knowing that praising God gets His attention. In the word of David, praising and giving thanks to God is a way of calling on God. David declared, “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:3) David identified praising and thanking God as calling on God to deliver him from his enemies. Praising and thanking God is an assured way of calling and getting God. As a believer, it is not enough to know about calling on God through praising and thanking Him but know to consciously know to engage praising and tanking God as a way of living life.
Praising and thanking God is also calling on God to appreciate Him. After David finally settled the ark from being moved around, he called on God to thank God. The book of 1 Chronicles 16:8 recorded David’s statement, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!” Calling on God is to make Him known. God wants attention round the clock. This testifies to the truth that, thanking God for His doing is calling upon His name to appreciate Him and declare Him to our world for what He has done. We do not only give thanks for what God has done or what He is doing but we also give thanks for what He can do or what we expect Him to do. Are you expecting God to move concerning your confronting situation? Regardless of the magnitude of your situation, believe and give thanks to God before manifestation of your expectation.

Also, thanking and praising God is declaring God. When we declare God, He decorates us. Shadrach, Meshach, Abed Nego declared God before a King who does not know God and they could not be consumed by a fiery burning furnace. (Daniel 3:16-17) Jesus declared God by praising and thanking God and He brought Lazarus back to live life after four days in the grace. It is written, “Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  (John 11:41-43) Our praising and thanking God will always provoke God to decorate us for His glory. Praising and thanking God cannot be separated. That is, praising God is thanking God and thanking God is praising God.

Prayer for today: Ask that the grace of praising and thanking God will not cease in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Ones that know to wait on God are the ones that know to ask.

Psalm 32, 94

What is stopping you from asking from God? A failure not to ask is the evidence of lack of faith. The word of God stated, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11) Asking and not receiving could be the evidence of asking wrongly. The bible makes us to realize that it is possible to ask and ask wrongly. The book of James 4:3 stated, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” What are you asking for? Why not turn around and begin to ask for that which will cause you to seek God more? To seek God is to be positioned where all of your needs be added to you by His grace. (Matthew 6:33)
Asking from God the promises of God for your life is not because God has forgotten you. God does not forget His children; He is God that acts for the one who waits for Him. (Isaiah 64:4)  Ones that know to wait on God are the ones that know to ask and God attends to them. The bible pointed it out that He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? (Psalm 94:9) It is worthy to begin to ask God for instruction and teaching over your life. In these days of uncommon challenges, evil occurrences that are ravaging the world, begin to ask for His promises. The word of God promised, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) Do you desire His eye to guide you? Indeed it is a blessing to be guided by the eye of God. Psalmist buttressed, “Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity…” (Psalm 94:12-13) There is a need to begin to desire rest from His instruction and teaching these days. God has promised to instruct and teach for rest to have a place in man’s life. Turn to God and begin to ask for God’s instruction and teach to have a place in my life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to hear and respond when God’s instruction and teaching is sounding in your direction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Saul’s attempts to harass the disciples caused heaven to arrest him.

Acts 9

Saul the most celebrated murderer of the New Testament also answered as Apostle Paul the most celebrated writer of the New Testament. He passionately went after the followers of Christ to persecute them until the Spirit of God arrested him. The book of Acts 9:1-2 documented, “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest  and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” A man that was full of threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, a man with the permission from the high priest to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether man or woman, he might bring them, bound to Jerusalem, could not see at his entering into Damascus. Saul’s attempts to harass the disciples caused heaven to arrest him and gave him a new name Paul.
Saul was a serious minded persecutor of the followers of Christ either on the way or out of the way. Saul would go outside of his area looking for followers of Christ to persecute. Saul’s mission to Damascus to carry out his business encountered the power that converted him from persecutor to a propagator of the kingdom of God’s business. By virtue of God’s power, no man under the heaven is above God’s redirection for the purpose of His divine agenda. God alone is One that reverses the irreversible. Saul on his journey to carry out persecution, “… He came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.” (Acts 9:3) It was in this light that he encountered Jesus, with no choice for him but to respond with trembling. Saul did not only tremble but requested from the Lord of what to do for the Lord. Above all, he lost his eyesight.
The Bible recorded Saul’s encounter, “Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” (Acts 9:8-9) Saul gained a new sight and moved forward to serve God. Saul answered to a new name (Paul) after gaining a new sight to see and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. God is still in the business of touching life. Ask, “Lord what do you want me to do” and He will position you in the center of your divine assignment.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to answer fully in every area of His calling for your life.