FAITH CAPSULE: To consciously engage a costly sacrifice is a proven mark of love for God.

1 John 5

Many songs have been written about love among the believers and non-believers. Among such is the song that says, “Oh how I love Jesus 3x, because He died for me.”
Have you actually taken some time out to search your heart if indeed you love God?
Do you love God?
What does it mean to love God?
LOVING GOD
1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” Keeping God’s commandment is either doing His will or being obedient to His will. It takes sacrificial commitment to obey God’s commandment. Loving God is a sacrifice.

Sacrifice is not cheap but it is giving unto God what is costly. King David once stated in 2 Samuel 24:24, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”” King David was responding to Araunah who had offered him a free land to make a sacrifice to God. The sacrifice was meant to deliver the children of Israel from death that was caused by David’s census. At that time, David’s census was against the command of God. David’s rejection of free land from Araunah was a clear demonstration of what a costly sacrifice before God should be. To consciously engage a costly sacrifice is a proven mark of love for God.

With God, there is a set standard for every area of His expectation for us. God did not just ask for love rather He gave us a standard of acceptable love when He stated in Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” To love God means to give Him our all. Through the pages of the Bible, men and women that gave Him all were able to live a fulfilled life and accomplish great exploits to the glory of God. Men like Abraham, Joseph, Daniel and other giants loved God and were able to do great exploits. The giants in the hand of God’s approach to the issues of life clearly depict what it is to love God with all of their heart, soul and strength.

God has not asked us for what cannot be done. Are you willing to love God? If you will begin to desire your love for God, He will deposit all that it takes for you to love Him. Love God and have life in Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to love Him more. Pray against the spirit that causes man to cease from loving God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Taking a route of pride is a noticeable avenue to trouble.

Psalm 27

A time of trouble is not a time of comfort. Trouble often brings distress, disturbance, or pain. Among the giants in the Bible, Job is one of the most qualified to tell what it is when trouble comes. Job stated, “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for troubles come.” (Job 3:26) The evidences of trouble in the life of the troubled ones are: not being at ease, not being in a quiet state of mind and lack of rest. Anywhere there is trouble, confusion will abide also and making wrong decisions will have its way. Taking a route of pride is a noticeable avenue to trouble.

King Herod had no reason to be troubled at the announcement of the birth of the King of kings, Lord of lords when his decision demonstrated that of a troubled mind. It is written, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:1-3) King Herod’s reason to be troubled could be caused by a wrong perception and intimidation of the birth of a new King. The trouble that came into the life of King Herod led him to make wrong and confused decisions.

Trouble is the root of wrong and bad judgment or bad decision making. Herod made an error in judgment and a wrong decision in his attempt to terminate God’s divine agenda. The decision of the wicked king to terminate God’s divine agenda brought to life the way and the infallible word of God to manifestation as it is written in Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.” The trouble in King Herod brought confusion into his life to think he could terminate the King of kings. Are you experiencing any kind of trouble? Are there any signs of trouble that are evident in you now?

Is your trouble rooted in pride? As a child of God, there is a place in the time of trouble where a believer can hide. The Psalmist recorded, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5). God is at work on behalf of all who seek refuge in time of trouble.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from every agent of trouble.

FAITH CAPSULE: Engage the word to disallow the world from grounding you.

John 1

Engage the word of God not the world. The word of God is described, “For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”(Acts 4:12) Are you engaging more of God’s word or the world? If engaging the word of God becomes man’s priority, getting heaven’s attention shall become man’s portion. Living the word of God and not only become conversant quoting the word is what it means to be engaging the word of God.God shall not violate His word. He promised in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Is your time for the world overtaking your time for the word of God? If your answer is yes, it is evident that your living life demands a serious readjustment. God says His word will not return back to Him void why not turn and engage the healing word of God more than the wicked world? The psalmist records, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) God already sent His word and He is still sending His word to those who make the choice to engage His word. Healing, deliverance, preservation, provision, is in the word of God and the world does not have any better thing to offer compare to the word of God.

The Apostle Paul admonished, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Engaging the word of God for man to be established and become untouchable in the face of the wicked world is the way to live life. Engage the word and allow the word to build you. It will be impossible for someone that is not answering to the word of God to be expecting the word to answer on his/her behalf.

The word of God cannot fail and will not fail. Man can make all the noise quoting the word but a failure to put on the word as a coat (garment) will cause man to be naked and exposed to the wicked world. Also, when the word is not sinking into man’s life faith will not rise. Engage the word; stop sinking but start to swim in the word of God so that faith will rise. Disallow the power of this world from grounding you; take cover in the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for grace to constantly engage His word with understanding.

FAITH CAPSULE: A careless sleep over the word of God is a slip-up that will expose man to untimely death.

Judges 16

It is written, “Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” (Judges 16:1-2) Samson could not be killed because of the word of God upon his life. Before he was born, God sent His word through His angel who declared that Samson should be a Nazirite (not to drink wine; not to eat anything unclean and no razor should touch his hair) from birth for the rest of his life. Time and time again he could not be brought down by forces of the wicked. Once, a lion caught up with him by surprise and he was able to tear up the lion like a young goat (Judges14:5-6). Power demonstration in the life of Samson was uncommon because the word of God was intact in his life.

The spirit of God constantly kept and delivered Samson from trouble. Samson was a mighty man of God. He was above all that attempted to take his life because the hand of God was upon him to keep Him awake and alive. Have you engaged the delivering word of God that is keeping you above or beyond any form of evil agenda? The word that is keeping man from evil agenda must be jealously secured and there should never be a careless sleep over the word of God in man’s life. A careless sleep over the word of God is the avenue to slip-up that will expose man to untimely death. Despite all that God deposited in his life, he overthrew himself when he had a careless sleep. Samson revealed what was to be kept secret to Delilah.

Samson should have seen the warning signs when he engaged Delilah whose name means lustful. Lust and temptation are birds of the same feather. Delilah the lustful one brought temptation to Samson in attempt to terminate Samson before his time. Indeed, Samson entered into a careless sleep after revealing the source of what God had deposited in his life. Judges 16:20 recorded, “And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson! So he awoke from the sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free! But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.’” Samson slip-up was a careless sleep which made him a victim of his enemy where he supposed to be victorious. Samson had a careless sleep; word of God vacated him and was delivered to his enemy. Are you having a careless sleep? Whenever the word of God is violated, becoming a victim of evil agenda is inevitable.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be constantly awake in the word of God for your deliverance and preservation.

FAITH CAPSULE: Miracle of the third answered with compassion for Moses and he came out untimely death. Exodus 1, 2

It is written, “Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and chief baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”(Genesis 40:20). It was on the third day that Pharaoh decided to restore his chief butler from the prison and the butler regained all that has been lost. This third month, pray that the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro throughout the whole world will locate you in everything that is representing confinement of Pharaoh. Ask God to remember you and locate you with a favorable visitation. When God remembers, it is always with favor. Also when He visits, it is always with salvation.

The Bible recorded how Moses’ mother hid him from the evil one’s hand for three months (Exodus 2:2) and placed him in an ark of bulrushes. After three months of hiding, the ark brought Moses to the attention of the evil one’s daughter. It is written, “…She saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6) Moses, in the face of his enemy, on the third day he came out of wicked and untimely death. The miracle of the third day; third month answered with compassion for Moses and he came out of untimely death. In this third month of the year, trust God that delivered Moses to deliver you from every mark of the wicked upon your life.

When the devil thought it was over for the ministry of Jesus on earth, our Lord and savior rose on the third day. On the third day, the grave of three days led to the birth of new grace. In this third month if you will begin to look up to God for newness of mercy, His grace shall recover all that the enemy has buried concerning your breakthrough.
Have you at any time felt that it is over? You have lost a ground that has held you high in the community or among colleagues. It is clear that there will be no way for you to get back to your lost ground. Trust God for the grace of third day that answered for Jesus to become your portion.
Do you truly accept Jesus as your Lord and savior by virtue of how you live life? If you have received Jesus as your Lord and savior, your righteousness in Him shall answer for your deliverance.

Prayer for today: Ask God that this third month, His grace shall bring forth your restoration and it shall keep you and establish you for His glory.