FAITH CAPSULE: At any moment man steps out of God’s word the evil of the word steps in to man.

Judges 15, 16

As long as Samson continued to work in the word of God as the source of his strength, the presence of God was constantly present in all of his moves. When Sampson decided to dwell outside of the word of God, the secret of his strength, the presence of God departed him. Judges 16:4-5, “Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ‘Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’” Sampson fell for enticement.
Enticement is a “make look good” weapon of the wicked one to ensnare man to come out of God’s word of command. At any moment man steps out of God’s word the evil of the word steps in to man. It was the same enticement the serpent engaged to lure Eve out of the command in the word of God. It is written, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6) The woman, after having listened to the serpent’s direction of attention to the fruit of the tree, she yielded and ate the fruit.
In the case of Samson, Delilah was the agent of the wicked one who caused Samson to lose the presence of the Lord through the vice of enticement. Is there any enticement that is meant to derail you in your calling? Enticement will lead to pestering; pestering will develop to being pressed in every side to the point of giving self to the wicked one’s agenda. The bible recorded in Judges 16:16, “And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death.” Avoid listening to any word of enticement; ignore and pay no attention by looking into any enticement. The enticement of the evil world will bring out the living word out of you and God in you will forsake you just like it happened to Samson. After having lured Samson to revealing his secret, she said to him, “…the Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his 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.” The Lord departed Samson.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace not to be vulnerable to any grave of enticement.

FAITH CAPSULE: A failure to hide when situation demands to hide is an evidence of ignorance.  

Judges 13, 14

There is a time for everything under heaven. The book of Ecclesiastes 3:1 states it better, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”  To a man who is wise, there will always be a time or season to hide or not to hide considerable secret or information which pertains to living life abundantly. A failure to hide when situation demands to hide is not an evidence of lack of spirituality but an evidence of ignorance. It is written, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; the simple pass on and are punished.” (Proverbs 27:12) The verse buttress the fact often times, one that knows to exercise good judgment will hide and not be exposed to evil while ones who claims to be a believer of the word exposes him/herself to unnecessary danger. Are you ignorant of the need to hide yourself where situations demands to hide?
God gave Samson an uncommon strength that no man could violate if he had not violated himself. Samson could not remain in hiding by keeping the secret of his strength and as a result, he became a victim of himself. Samson’s secret was the Word of God which was delivered to his parent before he was born. An angel of the Lord visited Samson’s parent and gave instructions in Judges 13:14, “She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” While Samson was walking in the commandment of God that was given before his birth, he was untouchable and undefeatable. He was able to keep the word of God and God was with Him.
Keeping the word of God day and night is the evidence of meditating on the word consciously or unconsciously. God promised Joshua in the book of Joshua 1:5-8, “…as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…” For God to be with us and not forsake us demands from us to constantly carry word of God in us day and night by obeying Him. Always remember, the word of God is God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of understanding to keep you in all ways.

FAITH CAPSULE: How are you keeping your heart from becoming a victim of Satan?

Jeremiah 17:5-18, Acts 5:1-11

Heart is described in the book of Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Without any doubt, heart seems to be the prime target for the enemy to take over. How are you keeping yours from becoming a victim of Satan? God promised to give the Israelites a heart to know Him. It is written, “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7) God’s promise to one is not limited from all, ask God for the heart that will never be accessible to Satan anymore and in anyway.
Ananias sold his possessions in the spirit of blessing fellow believers but allowed Satan to enter his heart. “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” (Acts 5:3) Satan is always after the heart to occupy as his playground. He is the master of trick masters. It was also reported that Satan entered Judas, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.” (Luke 22:3-4) There is no other place that Satan could have entered in Judas that could have been more effective than the heart. Both Ananias and Judas died an untimely death because their heart became the victim of Satan.
God’s promise of giving a new heart included the fact that after giving a new heart, there shall be a return to Him with a whole heart. A whole heart is what it will take to get to His Promised Land; a whole heart is what it will take not to doubt Him, a whole heart is what it will take for man not to complain against Him, a whole heart is what it will take not to die in the wilderness journey. Whole is all that made Caleb to confess positive after spying on the Promised Land. There is no man who can follow God fully except the heart is guided against the moves of Satan. A heart that follows God fully is a whole heart and whole heart is what God has promised to give. Caleb followed Him fully because of his whole heart and God testified in Numbers 14:24, “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”  

Prayer for today: Ask God to give you a heart to be whole in Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you finding it difficult to let go of what has been called off?

Exodus 14

God testified, “For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know my ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”(Psalm 95:10-11) Ones who do not know to constantly give thanks to God or praise God at all times will go astray in their heart. Psalmist testifies, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord…” (Psalm 34:1-2) The psalmist’s testimony is of a heart which never goes astray. 
A heart that goes astray will not see the warning signal against destruction when it comes. It will fail and not stop when there is a warning signal. Our heart needs to be focus on God as much as we have the breath of life. The psalmist buttress “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6)
Have you been holding on to bitterness, anger, and malice? Are you finding it difficult to let go of what has been called off? Could it be that you are operating a hardness of heart? Hardness of heart is a branch of a heart which goes astray. The Bible have it documented how destructive hardness of heart could be.
Being unforgiving, bitter, malevolent and not to let go when need calls for letting go can be a demonstration of hardness of heart. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was a good example among those whose heart was hardened in the Bible. After letting go of the Israelites from the bondage of over four hundred years he decided to pursue them because of the hardness of his heart. It is written, “…And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel…” (Exodus 14:8) In this pursuit, Pharaoh lost everything that he put out to pursue the children of Israel. The Lord was responsible for the hardness of his heart. It is worthy to pray to God and ask God not to let hardness of heart be your portion just as it was Pharaoh’s portion. Pharaoh was available as a vessel of dishonor. Ask God to deny in your life whatever causes man to operate or to be available as a vessel of dishonor. God is the God who reverses the irreversible. Be encouraged to ask, seek, and knock for the grace not to become a vessel of dishonor. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he was marked for destruction to the glory of God.

Prayer for today: Pray like David did in Psalm 141:4 “Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity…”

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not kiss your favor good bye, but rather cling to it.

Ruth 1, 2

What kind of seed have you been sowing on your God given ground? Whatever you sow is what you will reap. The two daughter in-laws of Naomi had decided to move with her back to her country after the death of her two sons which were their husbands. At first, both refused to yield to Naomi’s persuasion for them not follow her. Eventually, Orpah accepted to her mother in-law’s persuasion by turning back while Ruth insisted and refused to turn back based on the reason of her compassion for mother in-law (Naomi). Ruth’s genuine heart and sincerity made her to cling onto Naomi when Orpah returned back just with a kiss. Ruth’s action was a noticeable action before God and man.
At any time we undertake a noticeable action that glorifies God, Heaven will react on our behalf. In this life, there is no good work that will go unnoticeable before God. Are you consciously and sincerely engaging all that is good and not just some? The prayer of Hebrews 13:21 states, “ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” It is an ideal prayer for every believer who wants to be complete in every good work and not just few work.
Ruth was consciously being sincere when she refused not to turn her back and go away from Naomi. Ruth genuinely and sincerely stood with her mother in-law at the time of loneliness; at the time of she was returning to her land after the death of her two sons. By virtue of Ruth’s act of sincerity, she positioned herself to encounter favor of God through great wealthy man, Boaz. Boaz spoke to Ruth, “…It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The LORD repay your work and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. (Ruth 2:11-12) 
Ruth was sincere, sincerity is not stupidity; it is a demonstration of who you are; it is an evidence of genuine heart.The day which Boaz set eyes on Ruth, her story was wrapped with favor of God for good. Boaz put in place an uncommon protection and provision for Ruth. Ruth’s sincerity took her to her promised land when she insisted not to kiss her favor good bye just like Orpah did.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that will get you to where God wants you to be.