FAITH CAPSULE: Pleasing God is living life by faith.

1kings 3: 3-15

Pleasing God is the evidence of faith in the one that please Him. The book of Hebrews 11:6 buttress, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God wants to be pleased, He is a jealous God. He definitely wants to be pleased in how we engage life. Pleasing God is living life by faith. Habakkuk 4:2 states, “…the just shall live by his faith.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 also points out that we watch and stand by faith. Without doubt, when standing and watching is by faith, God is pleased. Are you conscious of how you live life? Do you pay attention to how you stand and how you watch? Are you hearing enough of word to keep you walking, watching and standing in faith?  Please God with your lifestyle; please Him in your meditation. When one goes about his/her way of living life, one must exercise faith to please God.  Let God be pleased with you beyond your wildest imagination.

King Solomon was the son of David and the third king of Israel. King Solomon is best known for his wisdom and for building the temple. He was able to please God with his speech and it provoked God to endue him with great wisdom which became his identity forever. It happened to be that Solomon went to sacrifice at Gibeon when God appeared to him. God asked Solomon, “…What shall I give you?” (2 Kings 3:5) King Solomon responded to God’s question, “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9) He had the business of God at heart; self was not in place as a result, Solomon asked for what it takes to carry out God’s divine plan for his life. What are you going to ask from God if He shows up in your dream? Will your request to be a God-serving purpose or self-achieving purpose? If you are an acclaimed believer, professional minister, or a minister for the Lord’s business, consider your request in these days of self-centeredness. Solomon did not hesitate to ask pleasingly and God was pleasingly provoked to bless Him beyond his imagination. It is written, “The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.” (1 Kings 3:10) God did not just give Solomon understanding but He added wisdom. Please Him in all areas of living life and His blessings will never run out of your life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you become one that constantly and consistently please Him in all ways of living life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Mixed multitude is unholy mix up.

Numbers 11

The Israelites failed to disengage multitude as they engaged there breakthrough journey and complaining became part of them. It is written, “Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.  A mixed multitude went up with them…” (Exodus 12:37-38)  For the Israelites, a mixed up multitude is unholy mix up. At the time of departure it does not seem dangerous for the Israelites to have a mixed multitude among them on their break through journey. As they progressed on journey, the effect of mixed multitude manifested negatively. It is written, “Now the mixed multitudes who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:4-6) Mixed multitude became the agent which engaged the Israelites to complain instead of compliment what God was doing.  On the long run, it was their complaint God responded to when He stated, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.  Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:  The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.  Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” (Numbers 14:27-30)

Pharaoh and his chariots could not overtake the Israelites when it was time for their breakthrough, Red Sea could not hold back the Israelites from breaking forth. However, mixed multitude set them up for their journey termination. Are you on course for your breakthrough journey? Is there any mixed multitude among you?

Here are some warning signals that you have allowed mixed multitude on your journey:
Mix-multitude will keep reminding you of the past when you need to focus on where the Lord is taking you.
Mix-multitude will only cause you to crave for what you do not need so you will cave into complaining instead of complimenting God.
Mix-multitude will cause one to worry in the place of worship.
Mix-multitude will cause one to yield to that which is in the physical instead of the spiritual things of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from all that represents mixed multitude in your journey of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus wants to see us act against crowd and not cave for crowd.

Mark 2:1-12

Learn and know to avoid crowd on your journey to healing breakthrough. A failure to avoid crowd is a passage to breakthrough stagnation.
A paralytic man was set for his healing breakthrough when Jesus entered Capernaum. It is written, “…it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.” (Mark 2:1-2) The paralytic man must have heard about the news of Jesus in town very late so he arrived late at his healing ground. The healing center at Capernaum was full because of the crowd. Imagine a paralytic man seeking healing where there is no accessibility not even near the door? Crowd clouded the paralytic man’s access to his healing ground (Is it your work or time for academic engagement, that is crowding your breakthrough to your healing ground?)

In life, there is always a way out when faith is in place because faith is the substance of things hoped for. Remember faith is described as, “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) The men who carried the paralytic man had faith because they were hoping for healing in the hand of Jesus as a result, “…when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” (Mark 2:4) For the paralytic man not to be denied his healing breakthrough by the crowd, four men lifted the paralytic man up to another level as they engaged a roof tearing faith and bible recorded, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:5)

Jesus is looking to see you make a move and not be removed by your crowd.
He is always waiting to see you act and not hide under excuse which cannot clear the crowd out of your way to your breakthrough miracle.

Zacchaeus man of short stature wanted to see Jesus while he was in the midst of a thronging crowd. He avoided crowd when he stepped up his attempt by running ahead of the crowd. After having run ahead, he pressed further and climbed on a sycamore tree despite his short statue. It is written, ^“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:5)

Jesus wants to see us act against crowd and not cave for crowd.
Avoid all kinds of crowds, and most especially the religious crowd.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to see you through all kinds of crowd.

FAITH CAPSULE: Seeking God is following God. It is a continuous process.

John 1:35-51

Seeking God is following God. It is a continuous process. Continuous process is not convenience it is a commitment. Whatever you are missing is in seeking God. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Is God first in your seeking and serving Him? Each and every acclaimed believer is overwhelmed with different purpose and different agenda. Some seek and serve for financial gain while some seek and serve Him in attempt to get answer to confronting issues. In your seeking and serving Him, time has always been what you are using as a determinant. In seeking and serving God you are the kind with constant and consistent consideration of how, when, where or what you can deliver in your service to the Lord. If one will consider today that time which is being used as a guard post is not in control of man but God that gives it, one will begin to give all to God. Let it be registered in you today that seeking and serving God is not a convenient engagement but a commitment. Commitment is a sacrifice and only God and not man can determine and accept what He considers to be a reasonable sacrifice. If you have not denied yourself, your seeking and serving God is conceit; your seeking and serving Him is not recorded in heaven; Jesus will declare later that He did not know you.

Have you actually denied yourself for the Lord’s service? As an acclaimed believer, it is not only when you see believers around you that you should be acting unselfish. Also, it is not only in the presence of fellow believers that acting to be holy should be in place. You know it is not true and it is false humility. Man can be deceived but God will see through the heart and He cannot be deceived, “For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him all actions are weighed.” (1 Samuel 2:3) Let it penetrate deep in your heart that in seeking and serving Him, you have to follow Him. It is written,  “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” (John 12:26) Ignorance is not an excuse. Ignorance will only make a destitute out of a believer; it will ridicule your journey if you fail to master what it takes to follow the Master.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to follow fully in your seeking and serving Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is evil for any believer to think that inside can be neglected based on a flimsy excuse.

Matthew 23

As an acclaimed believer of Jesus as Lord and Savior, how clean is your inside compared to your outside? It is important to know that what you present on the outside is not as important to what you carry in the inside. The Pharisees were one of the major sect or special – interest groups among the Jews during the days of the New Testament. Pharisees, meaning separated ones, believed that religious rituals and separation from sinners were the way to please God. Matters such as the laws of tithing and ritual purity were very important to the Pharisees. Jesus referred to them as hypocrites. He said in Matthew 23:25, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self indulgence.” Every believer has a need to take a close look at self from the inside to know how much of the spirit of Pharisees inhabits your life.

Are you one of those who want to shine on the outside while the inside is dull and cannot be presented before the Lord? Are you a modern day Pharisees that will offer more than what is requested for the outside while the inside is not being attended to? By virtue of the days we are living, every believer does have a need for serious self-examination. Man can be deceived but God cannot be deceived. It is possible to come out on Sundays or on days of fellowshipping, presenting self on the outside as holy and neat while you are having a neglected inside that is dirty and rusty.
It does not matter how long you have been getting away with your hypocrisy.  Just think of the fact that God does not and will not overlook sin. It is evil for any believer to think that inside can be neglected based on a flimsy excuse while the outside is being upgraded. Know today that “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11) If you can consider yourself as one that fits into the identity of the Pharisees, it is never too late to get out from the outside and begin from the inside of yourself for a thorough readjustment. Jesus said in Matthew 23: 26, “Blind Pharisees, first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. God will never look from outside to inside, but rather conducts examinations from the inside to the outside.  Stop decaying, stop deception and go ask God for His deliverance in your life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to have your inside intact to the glory of God.