FAITH CAPSULE: Abiding in Him and the word abiding in us is what will bring forth fruit.

John 15:1-11

It is written, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:20-21) He sent His Word; it is not written that He will send His word. Jesus the living word of God also declared, “He declared, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus was not stating I am coming. The word of God is all we need to live in the world of challenge. The word is sent to give us a knowing edge over every circumstance because there is no circumstance that is bigger than the living word of God. God sent His Word to us as power which brings wonderful works to life. Is the word of God working as much as it should be working for all the acclaimed receivers of the word? The Word of God will only work for those who walk in the word of God. Engaging work where the word is being preached is not evidence that word will work for one. Many walk in the word and reap the fruit or their walk. Many also work where the word is being preached but nothing to show for.
Entering where the word is being preached without abiding in the word adds nothing to man. Jesus stated, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:5-7) Jesus stated clearly here that abiding in Him and the word abiding in us is what will bring forth fruit. The Word of God is entertained in the heart before it over takes in the physical. Also, it is not enough to be fluent in the word if there is no abiding in the word of God. God cannot be deceived; God knows what He expects and He will only give back in the same measure for His name to be glorified.

Prayer for today: Ask for the word of God to have a place in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Ridicule is from the outside; it is an agent of discouragement.

Luke 8: 49-56

Jesus came to give life abundantly. He declared, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus was not stating I am coming…He came already to give Himself to whosoever receive and believe Him. He came to make us if we choose to follow Him. He lived an exemplary life for us to see that with Him, in Him and through Him, all things are possible. Jesus is our Advocate, our representative before the Father. Have you accepted Him into your life? If you have accepted Him you have become a believer. As a believer, make sure that all things which do not represent Him, that are outside of your beliefs are outsiders to you and they should all be considered and treated as outsiders. Disallow outsiders inside of you.
Let the outsiders be on the outside so that doubt will die, mockery will be denied and above all, ridicule will not have a place inside of you. Jesus, despite the power in Him, when it was time to bring forth Jairus’ daughter back from death to life He disallowed outsiders. The first thing Jesus did was to encourage the family not to be afraid but believe by saying to them, “it is well.” Secondly, He told them that their daughter had only went to sleep and not unto death so that they should stop weeping. While Jesus was taking care of the inside (the family of Jairus), the outside was in operation. Luke 8: 53 described the outsides operation, “And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.”  The outsiders ridiculed Jesus thinking it would be impossible for Him to raise Jairus’ daughter back to life. Ridicule is from the outside; it is an agent of discouragement. As an agent of discouragement, ridicule will bring forth discouragement to stop exercising faith from having its place.
After having addressed the family with encouraging words, Jesus did not hesitate; He settled the outside when, “…He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Little girl, arise,’ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.” (Luke 8:54-55) Jesus disallowed the surrounding people (the outsiders) from denying the miracle for Jairus’ daughter. Just as Jesus put all agents of mockery and ridicule out in the case of Jairus’ daughter, so He will do on your behalf.

Prayer for today: Ask God to uphold you in His way so that your own faith will not fail. 

FAITH CAPSULE: God alone is the Building Builder that builds to perfection.

Ezra 4:1-5, Job 1:1

Outstanding building project is not without outstanding challenges. When God is set to build you up for His glory, uncommon challenges will come your way during the building process. Job was referred to as the richest man in the land. He was not just rich financially, but he was also rich spiritually. The Bible says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) Job’s entire spiritual and financial blessing was not an indication that he could not experience challenging affliction. When challenges come, they will not be announced to but will rather impose themselves in your life. There were no warning signs for Job to prepare himself or his family before the challenges showed up. When God wants to build you for a great assignment or for His glory challenges will come with discouragement; trouble will show up and frustration will reign. God made a way for His house to be built in Jerusalem when He stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2) In this kind of building project which was called for by God, there should have been expectation for a hitch free construction, but it was not so. Opposition is an agent of frustrating challenge which always moves to bring down what needs to be built or rebuilt. Ezra and the Jews who volunteered to go and build the house of the Lord did not escape the opposition which was set against the project of God.
It is written, “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:4-5) The pattern of oppositions in bringing challenges to every building construction is consistent in: discouragement, trouble, and frustration. One should continue to count on God for any challenge at all times. He is building or rebuilding you and you should pay attention for correction. Pay attention for the purpose of what you will be attending to and taking care of after you have been built. You will become a beautiful building; a building of God and a building that is not common. You will be a building which will always bring glory to His name. God alone is the Building Builder that builds to perfection for His name to be glorified.

Prayer for today: Ask God to see you through in all your oppositional challenges in Jesus name.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is not enough to trust God in the beginning and not trust Him through to the end.

1 Kings 12

Jeroboam received word of God to become king. It is written, “…For the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” (1 Kings 12:15) The word of God never goes back to Him void; it always performs that which it is sent to do. God said He was going to make Jeroboam a king, but it was left for Jeroboam to receive the word sent by God and meditate on it to manifest for the glory of God. Have you heard from Him lately? Can you confirm if God has spoken or if He is speaking through the pages of the Bible or a minister of His Word? If it can be confirmed that the word is for you, hold on to His word and rest in Him until He brings it to pass. Just as he gave His word of promise to make Jeroboam king, Jeroboam eventually became the king. However, having become king, he failed to remind himself that the word of God which located him to become a king was enough to back him up. Jeroboam doubted the word of God.
Jeroboam behaved like a spring which could not remember its source. Anytime a spring forgets its source, that spring is set to be dried up and not to flow again. This was the situation of Jeroboam when he began to doubt if the Kingdom would return to the house of David after God had given it to him. 1 Kings 12:25-27, “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.’” Doubt is not of God. Doubt is an agent of fear and it does not have any good to offer. It is not enough to trust God in the beginning and not trust Him through to the end. God who has spoken to you and He will bring it to perfection if you only will rest in His promises. Jeroboam doubted and could not rest in God and as a result, he began building idols and led the people unto other gods. God is not a failure and never can be. Remember the works of His hand; rely on His word to carry you through.

Prayer for today: Ask Him for the grace to maintain focus on His word of promise.

FAITH CAPSULE: Engage the word of God; allow faith to come into your soul.

2Kings 4:8-37

The Bible describes faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” (Hebrew 11:1-2) How do you describe faith? Your description of faith is encased in how you apply faith. To effectively apply faith, one must get the full understanding of the source of faith that is where faith comes from. The bible also described the source of faith stating, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Engage the word of God; allow faith to come into your soul. The word of God is the answer to every pressing need in life. Do not consider this for a later adoption to your pending situation or pressing need. Now and not later, go ahead, engage word, gain and apply faith knowing that God is still in the business of honoring His Word. Faith is heart-activated and mouth-operated. Faith is a God pleaser and it will provoke God to move on your behalf. Faith will move the hand of God if indeed it is activated and operated the way it should be. God cannot be deceived when there is failure to activate and operate faith. God knows our heart and He knows when faith is activated more than we know it and that is why Hannah said in her prophetic prayer in 1 Samuel 2:3, “…For the LORD is the God of Knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.”
What is your action concerning you pending situation? How are you going to activate faith to bring you out of your dilemma? The only and better choice is to lay it on God and watch while you wait to see how God will move in on your behalf. Also, know to only confess positive to your situation. Begin to see victory in the place of defeat; begin to see breakthrough in the face of hindrances and also begin to see life in the place of death. Allow your faith to announce your wellness; disallow your surrounding from what will determine the outcome of your situations.
The bible talked about a Shunammite woman who engaged positive confession in the face of death of her only son. With her “heart-activated and mouth-operated faith” she allowed her faith to announce her wellness when it was not well for her and she disallowed her surrounding from what will determine the outcome of her situations. Indeed her son’s life was restored back to life. The same miracles are everywhere faith is having its reign because of God’s rule and reign over all His creation.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the Spirit of faith to have its reign in your life and for His name to be glorified.