FAITH CAPSULE: Running the race requires endurance through the grace of God.
 
Hebrews 12:1-24

The word of God admonishes in Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”The journey of life is a race of life. Running the race is not by strength or by determination, but only by the grace of God. Despite the truth that the race can only be successfully run by grace, there should be no reason to abuse the grace to run through. To run the race through, two things have to be avoided as mentioned in the scriptural verse above: Weight and sin.
Weight is the unnecessary thing that adds nothing to us but take away from us by slowing us down. Weight is minor thing which we often consider as major. Weight is also what man should fully let go and not carry along while answering to God’s calling in running the race of life. With weight not being let go, one is set to fail and not run successfully. What is it that that can be considered weight in your race?
Sin is the evil which man often engages consciously or unconsciously. The major root of sin is pride. Which is it in your life? Is it manipulation, unforgiving, lying, deception, keeping malice, fornication, adultery, stealing and all kinds of race terminating baggage?
The race is already set and there is no choice but to run it. To run the race requires endurance through the grace of God. In this world of challenges, running with determination will not be enough but running with endurance is what it takes to run successfully. Running the race with endurance can only be engaged by looking up unto Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. For effective and successful running, Jesus paid the price on the cross with His blood. The Blood of Jesus never runs out or short of supply as a result, take to the word by “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Are you getting weighed down in the race of life? Be encouraged and do not be discouraged in the race of life. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith already stated, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)Hold on to Him by keeping your eyes on Him and He will see you through.
With Jesus, you will run with peace and find rest.

Prayer for today: Ask God to cause His face to shine on you that you may become save and not fail.

FAITH CAPSULE: Take to the word of God to take control over your challenge.

Jeremiah 1, Matthew 22:14

Jesus’ words are not dead but they are living. His words are power to direct and to deliver. Twice in the book of Matthew, in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard and the Parable of the wedding feast, He stated, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 20:16, Matthew 22:14) The quotation demands a serious attention by virtue of its emphasis by Jesus. Indeed and in truth, it is safe to say that today, many are answering and maintaining their calling in the center of their divine assignment while many are falling and not maintaining their calling. Having started right and later succumbing and falling in doing the work of God is not always evident to the fact that they are not called of God. Distractions in the world today are enough to deny the called but there is no enough excuse for man to derail from the Lord’s calling. Have you been called and now face tough challenges? It is good to rest in the assurance of the word that states, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1Thesalonians 5:24)Stay on the truthfulness of God’s Word and you shall overcome.
In God’s calling, challenging times will come, but when we remain faithful we shall not fall but shall remain standing. When God called Jeremiah to the center of his divine assignment, it was with words of encouragement over challenges that were ahead for Jeremiah. God spoke to him, “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them.” (Jeremiah 1:17) Whenever He calls you, He will back you up if you will not take to your back-up plan. Backing out of His calling will definitely lead to the falling of the called. God also warned Jeremiah stating, “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ’to deliver you.’” (Jeremiah 1:19) God will not call and fail to back His called. Failure, however, happens when the called fail to maintain faith in God. The same way God gave His assurance to Jeremiah, He also gave to Ezekiel. He spoke to Ezekiel, “You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house…” (Ezekiel 2:7-8) In your calling, take to His word to take control over challenges; abstain from despising the word of His command that you may live to the fulfillment of your destiny. In God’s calling, there is no way out to avoid challenges. The challenges in your calling will make a way out for you and not break you.

Prayer for today: Ask for His enablement in the course of my calling.

FAITH CAPSULE: Nothing goes without its reward and every act of man will activate a man’s reward.

Esther 5, 6, 7

God is good. Doing good when a situation calls for it glorifies God. When you know to do good, do not stop nor relent from doing good. Also, when doing evil becomes part of your doing, it is good to seek God for help and reverse from doing evil to doing good. Have you been doing good and it appears to you there is no reward for doing good? If God does not oversee sin, He definitely would not oversee doing good. Nothing goes without its reward and every act of man will activate a man’s reward. The few Scriptural verses below cannot emphasize enough about good: Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Doing good or bad does have its reward. Whatever a man sows, he will reap. It is not possible to sow oranges and reap mangos. Are you ignoring doing good because there is no one to acknowledge your doing? God sees it all and He will not relent from rewarding you for your deed. Mordecai spotted evil and did not relent from reporting it. It is written, “In those days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. So the matter became known to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name.” (Esther 2:21-22)
Mordecai’s good deed was not instantly rewarded, but was nevertheless recorded in his name. As time went by, a certain evil man named Haman, who had sought to destroy Mordecai, gained promotion to be the right hand man of king Ahasuerus. The night before Haman could carry out his attempt to destroy Mordecai and his people, “…the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.  And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. Then the king said, ’What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this…?’” (Esther 6:1-3) The honor and dignity that was bestowed to Mordecai gave deliverance to Mordecai and set Haman into destruction. Indeed and in truth, “A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.”(Proverbs 12:2) Meditate on the Word of God, “…to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace that enables man to do good constantly in the daily journey.

FAITH CAPSULE: Fear does not discriminate on who to invade.

Matthew 14:22-33

The Psalmist stated, “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,” (Psalm 64:1-2) One that is preserved from the fear of the enemy is set to be hidden from the secret plots of the wicked and the rebellion of the workers of iniquity. However, one that abstains from meditating is bound with the challenge of not gaining the kind of preservation the psalmist is asking from God. Meditation demands consistency and constantly meditating prayer is what it takes to stop evil one that will always return at opportune time. Meditate on the prayer to be preserved as you navigate through the journey of life. If meditating is your routine, you will do well with the word of the Psalmist. The anchor in this prayer is, “preserve me from the fear of the enemy.” There is only one enemy for every creation of God and that enemy is the devil himself. Fear is the deadliest of the enemy’s weapon. When faith sinks, it is because fear was allowed to rise. Fear does not discriminate on who to invade.
Job, a man of integrity, was described by God in response to the Satan asone “that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) Job had a high standard in the presence of God. After he had lost all that the Lord blessed him with, he confessed about fear, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25) Fear did not announce itself to Job when it was gaining its ground inside of Job. In Job’s life, fear could not destroy him but did a great damage on him. Also, it was fear that caused Peter to sink in the storm. In the challenge of stormy water, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ’Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ’Lord, save me!’ (Matthew 14:28-30) In this narration of Peter, it is clear that when faith was in place, he was able to walk on the storm and not sink. However, when faith was out of place, fear began to make him sink despite the fact that Jesus was there with him.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that delivers man from the faith failing agents of life.