FAITH CAPSULE: Claiming victory over an agent of hindrance demands a permanent termination.

1 Samuel 17
 
Goliath the Philistine was an agent of hindrance that attempted to deny the calling upon the life of David. At every war engagement with enemy, weapon of fighting should include the power of word. The bible recorded Goliath’s confrontation with David, “…the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” (1 Samuel 17: 44) David did not allow the Philistine’s word of confession to settle when he responded, “…You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:45-46) David, by virtue of his response to Goliath demonstrated faith and God was pleased to back the word of David’s mouth. David’s act of faith instead of fear made him an overcomer over the word of Goliath. The wicked one which God has enabled you to bring down has yet to be defeated and permanently terminated until it is cut off.
David was called and anointed by God through the hand of Samuel to become the next King succeeding Saul. His calling was not a confirmation, but an indication of where God was taking him. Having been privileged to bring down the giant, the agent of hindrance, on his way to where God wanted to place him, there was a need to permanently terminate the giant. In every victory over an agent of hindrance, there will always be a need for a permanent termination. In the case of David and Goliath, there was a point of permanent termination. 1Samuel 17:51, “Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his word and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” The Philistines knew that their champion was down, yet they were still waiting for a slight move that would convince them that he could stand again. When David ran over him, stood over him, drew out his sword and cut his head off, they knew that their champion was permanently terminated. Do not turn away from the hindrance that God has brought down on your behalf and do not go into celebration too early.
 
Prayer for today:Ask Him to enable you to run over, stand over, and cut off its head for a permanent termination that will disrupt all of his accomplices.

FAITH CAPSULE: One cannot be a liar and live forever neither can one be a deceiver and not die.

Revelation 21
 
The word of Jesus identifies the father of a liar, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44) Is being untruthful your passion?
Are you one that constantly claims you love God with the mouth but hatred reigns in your heart? It is written, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20) It will only take one day for the lies of a thousand years to be exposed. The covering and deception will be untied, and the enemy’s tricks will no longer be hidden from the human race.
Lying and deceiving are the same. One cannot be a liar and live forever neither can one be a deceiver and not die. Some who claim to be believers have put on the garment of lying and deception. In the house of God, they have no fear in claiming, and using the authority of the Word of God. They go about parading like a saint before the congregation. A sports superstar prompted this writing. He was to be awarded the highest medal of his career. As the whole world was watching and waiting for him to receive the honor, he never show up, because he was caught lying. The hidden cancer (lying) denied him of his Medal of Honor and time of glory. Maybe you have been getting away with lying for quite some time now. What you profess is not what you possess and your confession cannot be confirmed in you. You are called a saint, yet no one knows what you do behind closed doors. How do you treat your partner? Is it in accordance with the Word of God? You may be unswervingly faithful to nine of the Ten Commandments, and fail at only one. Nonetheless, this will surely deny you when the trumpet sounds. The book of identifies liars among the ones that are set in the route of lake of fire stating “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8) That sports superstar did it all, won it all and yet, was denied his medal.

Prayer for today: Pray that your journey will not end in the same way as that of the celebrated sports superstar.

FAITH CAPSULE: One’s location when deliverance comes to look for one will determine how one will be saved.

Genesis 19
 
When Sodom and Gomorrah was set to be destroyed because of sin and iniquity, God could not keep His plan away from Abraham but visited him and said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21) God in His inestimable mercy will not overlook sin but will make a way out for the righteous ones in the time of judgment.
Sodom was set to be destroyed and Lot was destined to be delivered. Lot could not miss his deliverance because he was in the right location at the right time. In life, it is not impossible for one to suffer from sudden and untimely destruction when one fails to be in the right location and at the right time. When the two angels sent by God came to Sodom, Lot was at the right place to be connected with God’s agent for his deliverance plan. Lot was not in an unusual location but at the right location. It is written, “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face toward the ground.” (Genesis 19:1)Are you conscious of your location in thesedays of wickedness? Are you paying attention to the time you are living? Where you are when deliverance comes to look for you will determine how you will be saved. It is one thing to be at the right place and at the right time; it is another to be able to identify that your deliverance is at hand. Rising and worshiping is an evidence of spiritual sensitivity. Lot saw them (angels) and rose to meet them. Lot also bowed himself to acknowledge them. Rising and worshiping when your deliverance comes knocking is important. Let every moment of your life be in focus for the hand of God to deliver when deliverance matters. How often have you seen people at the park or gate fall asleep? Lot could have slept and missed his deliverance. Because of the days in which we are living, and the depth of the sinful world, it is crucial for us to be constantly awake both in the spirit and the physical. Lot could not be found missing because he was under the banner of deliverance from the wickedness of his time.
 
Prayer for today: Ask that you will not misplace yourself under the banner of God’s protection when the time of deliverance is here.

FAITH CAPSULE: There is no substitute for obeying the commands of God.

1 Samuel 15
 
One that constantly fails to honor his/her own given word is going to be having tough challenge honoring the word of God that is not physical visible to man. Taking the place of not honoring God is failing to obey the command of God. After the failure of King Saul for not fully destroying the Amalekites as commanded by God, Saul was rejected as king. Samuel responded to Saul’s incomplete obedience to God’s direction stating, “…to obey is better sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) King Saul despised the word of God and he became a reject as a king. It is obedience to accept the word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. Have you accepted the word of God today?
A believer who is constantly disobedient to the Word of God is like a car speeding in the dark with its headlights turned off. It will only take one moment for the driver to have his life terminated. How long would a driver continue to drive in the dark without the headlights on? The question is important and needs to be addressed. God is a merciful and jealous God who desires constant attention from His creation, Exodus 34:14, “For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” To gain the attention of a jealous God requires sincere and consistent obedience before His holy name. It does not matter who you are in the Lord, neither does it count what role you play in the Kingdom of God’s business. If obedience is not in place, one’s walk with the Lord will not flourish and it will be replaced. Jesus’ mother and brothers received a warning that could have denied them their access to Him, Luke 8:19-21, “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You. But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” Do you desire to see Him when you look for Him just as His mother and brothers went to look for Him, or do you want to continue to ignore Him? You need to look for Him by calling on Him and making your way to Him through your obedience to His commands. There is no substitute for obeying the commands of God. It requires the grace of God for every believer to observe them.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to constantly walk in His commands.

FAITH CAPSULE: When the time is right before God, He will call you.

Exodus 2:11-25, 3:1-10
 
In Jesus’s parables:The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:16), The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:14) Jesus stated, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Just as many are called, but few are chosen so it is also possible that few are called and many answered. In the name of serving God; engaging Kingdom of God’s business, are you answering where you have not received any call from God?
Man cannot determine for God the timing of His calling. God’s timing is different from man’s timing. Are you deciding the time for yourself to be called for His assignment? God will call you when He is ready to use you. If you have received a call outside of His calling, you will end up out of God’s plan for your life. When God calls you, He will back you up and you will not fail. He will not allow any of His called to cross without Him caring for them. When He calls you, no weapon formed against you shall prosper and you shall know no failure. God called Samuel at a very young age and He constantly backed him up. The Bible testify, “So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” (1 Samuel 3:19)
Moses answered a call to help his Hebrew brethren when he was not called by God. He intervened in a fight between his Hebrew brethren and an Egyptian. In his support for his Hebrew brethren, he killed the Egyptian. He became a murderer, and it was used against him by his brethren. Exodus 2:15, “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.” He lived forty years in the palace, but had to flee all because he was not called when he called himself. It took another forty years for him to actually receive the call that allowed neither man nor weapon to stand against him and prevail. When the time is right before God, He will call you. Do not answer a call if God has not called you. God called Moses in at HisExodus 3:4, “So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’” He will call you if you will turn your head to Him and not depend on yourself or any other man.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God or the grace not to answer to self-call but to His calling.