FAITH CAPSULE: Enemy’s enticement will tie one down for destruction.

Judges 13:1-7, 16

Enticement and temptation means the same. One of the weapons of the enemy’s most deadly weapon is “enticement.” To be enticed is to be lured away from the point of focus. Eve supposed to focus on not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as commanded by God. When the serpent showed up on her ground, she was cunningly enticed and lost her focus. The moment she lost her focus, she 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) Eve was enticed; she lost focus of God’s command. The enemy is the master of deception and he has been around long before man. He attempted Jesus but failed because He was full of God’s word. Be assured that if he could attempt Jesus, we are no exception for him to attempt. Thank God for the word of deliverance.
If one’s focus is not properly fixed on God (Word of God), the enemy’s enticement will tie one down for destruction. It does not matter how strong you are standing in the Lord, the enemy will knock on your door with the purpose of knocking you down. The enemy knocked on Adam and Eve’s door and achieved his goal. He knocked on Jesus’s door but failed. Samson, as strong as he was, was enticed, and was brought down from where God placed him. It is written, “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 everyone of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’”(Judges 16:5) Samson was a miracle child born with special instructions from heaven. As regard to Samson, the Bible documents in Judges 13:5, “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” The man, Samson, ended up blind, because he could not be obedient according to the Word of God. Enticement produced a hole in his strength. The hole in Samson’s strength caused his power to become deflated from what God had pumped into him before he was born. God will answer our prayer today, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer for today:Today, ask for God’s hand of deliverance in every area of life where you have become a victim of enticement.

FAITH CAPSULE: Look up to God and His agent who will come your way from the Way. 

Psalm 121, Acts 3: 1-11
 
In the face of every challenging issue it really does not matter where we are or how long it has been but it does matter who we are looking up to. When challenges rise like stormy water, when one begins to be tossed by the waves, it becomes absolutely necessary not to look up to man but God. Man will fail but God never fail. To whom are you looking up to? Just as it is important to look up to God in challenging times, it is worthy to make looking up to God in time of no challenges become our custom. Looking up to God is giving God all the attention that will provoke God to attend to us.The Psalmist says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills- from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.”(Psalm 121:1-2)The promise of deliverance and preservation in lifting up eyes to God is worth enough to not wait till challenges come before making looking up to God a custom.
The Bible says that Abraham looked up to Him and he was helped. The man lame from his mother’s womb, also took no exception in looking up and receiving. The lame man begging for alms at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful, spotted Peter and John and lifted up his eyes for the purpose of looking. All he could do was to look and fixate his eyes on them. Fixation the evidence of expectation will provoke manifestation. Acts 3:4testifies about John and Peter’s reaction to the blind man from his mother’s womb, “And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, Look at us.” The lame man looked as it was required of him. In the next verse, it is written, “So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.” In your waiting for provision from God, have you been looking? God perhaps will not come down from heaven, but He has many agents that He can bring to your attention. When he sends you an agent will you be able to look up to receive? It is in where you are and how you are looking that will bring forth a way into your miracle of provision. When you look, let there be a fixation. Fix your heart on Jesus the Healing healer and your eyes will be able to see God’s agent at work. Attention will bring forth expectation to receive. Trust God and do not stop looking for His agent who will come your way from the Way.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to trust on God with all your heart, and to never lean on man.

FAITH CAPSULE: Compromising can be complicating enough to terminate man in the journey of life.

Daniel 6:1-28
 
Right from the time Daniel became a captive he did not compromise his faith. A young man in captivity does have every reason to despise the word of his God that could not stop him from becoming a captive. Daniel knew his God enough to remain focus and the Bible testifies, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank…” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel remained focus and refused to compromise his faith in the face of challenge. Compromising can be complicating enough to terminate man in the journey of life. Reasons for compromising one’s faith is without ceasing in this world of wickedness. For Daniel, reasons to compromise did not cease but Daniel stood his ground without compromising his faith.
It is written in Daniel 6:1, “When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his window open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. With a plan to entrap Daniel into denying his God and compromising his faith, a law was enacted by his enemies. Daniel knew what the consequences of defying the law would be, but responded by doing what pleased his God. He went and gave God his customary attention, which was to pray three times a day. There was no compromise in what he had been doing before or after the law was changed to trap him. Something similar to this may be happening to you consciously or unconsciously. Compromising our faith or standing in the Lord is the report that the devil wants to take to God concerning us. The Bible says, “When Daniel knew”. When he knew, he did not run away, he did not panic; he did not try to persuade anyone, he did not try to solve anything by himself, and he did not go back to the lawmakers to argue with them. When he knew, he went home to settle with God on his knees. Take your stand on whatever ground you find yourself when your faith is being challenged; take it before God in prayer and you will be surprised how He settles you. Evidently, Daniel knew his God and he took his ground against compromising. The word declares,“Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)
Now you know like Daniel how to proceed when the enemy tries to get you to compromise your faith.
 
Prayer for today:Ask God for the grace to remain focus and never to compromise your faith in Him.          

FAITH CAPSULE: To be thank- full is to be praise-full.

Psalms 100, Luke 17: 11-19
 
In the book of Luke 17, the Bible recorded that when Jesus entered a certain village, He was met by ten lepers. The lepers’ desire was to be cleansed from leprosy. Instead of the lepers to be quiet they lifted their voices asking Jesus for mercy. Jesus responded by spoke the word that cleansed the lepers and only one out of the ten lepers went back to give thanks. Jesus responded to the act of no appreciation by stating, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:17-18) One leper thanking Him out of ten does not meet the expectation of Jesus. Are you taking time to thank Him for the past months and not just for this month?
To be thank- full is to be praise-full. To be praise-full is to be God-filled. David, once described as a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14), was a praise-full man. Without a doubt, by the testimonies in David’s writings, he was a man who praised God on a different level. As a result, God established him on a level that is different from any other Bible character, Psalms 18:3, “But you are holy, enthroned in the praise of Israel.” It is in praising God that His place of habitation is created. It is evident in the life of David that he would not consider putting anything above praising his God. David was once despised by Michal because of the way in which he gave praise to God.2 Samuel 6:16 recorded , “Now as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Micah, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw king David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.” David was praise-full. He set no limit on where, when or how he praised God. Praising God is a powerful way of provoking the hand of God. Many battles of Bible were won by praising God. Remember the wall of Jericho? The wall of Jericho fell down flat when God gave the command to the children of Israel to praise, Him. How is your praise life? Are you giving praise serious attention? Consider changing your weapon of offense against your wall of Jericho by increasing your time praising Him.Psalms 100:2 states, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His court with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Giving thanks will only see you through to the gate. Stop yourself from being held back at the gate and let your praises take you into His courts where He sits and reigns Then, you will be God-full.
 
Prayer for today: Ask that the heart of thanksgiving should reign in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The word of God is light and it is the beauty of the Lord.

Psalm 90
 
In the days when wickedness and darkness thrives, man need to be constant walking in the word of God. The word of God is light and when it shines darkness disappears. Walking the word of God is behaving the word and allowing the word of God to take charge in every affairs of one’s life. As the year begins to run out, it is worthy to give thanks for the past months and for the privilege of life. It is also worthy to ask God for His beauty to be upon us. Is there anything you desire this new day, take it to the Lord in prayer.The word of God is light and it is the beauty of the Lord. The Psalmist asked inPsalm 90:17, “And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” Without doubt, the beauty of the Lord is light. 1 Timothy 6:16, “Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power, Amen.” Light is what enables us to see. Psalm 119:105 describes the word of God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
When the light of God (the beauty of God) is on one, every work or attempt of darkness will be exposed. When His beauty (the light of God) is on one, there will be a way where there is no way and darkness shall disappear. But not so for others who cannot see because of the darkness that is upon them. When that light is upon you, it will bring you closer to God. One that gets closer to God will walk in revelation. Do you sincerely desire the beauty of the Lord our God to be upon you? Is the work of your hand facing challenges of different magnitudes? Jesus commanded in Matthew 7: 7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Ask Him with a heart of expectation. The Psalmist asked because he wanted the work of his hand to be established. He is a faithful God and He will give you the desires of your heart only if your desire is rooted in Him.
 
Prayer for today:Pray just as the Psalmist prayed by asking for the beauty of the Lord to be upon you and establish you against every form of evil agenda as the year run close to an end.