FAITH CAPSULE: Excuses before God will not elevate but will only eliminate or exclude one from the blessings of God.

Genesis 3:8-24
 
When sacrifice unto God becomes convenient, there is susceptibility that it is no longer a reasonable sacrifice. However, whensacrifice unto God becomes a commitment,despite inconveniences that might be in place, the grace to conveniently engage a reasonable sacrifice will not cease from flowing.
Giving excuse is the best and most reasonable means for one to get away from one’s commitment to serving God outside or inside of the church fellowship. When the church fellowship calls for meeting such as choir practice, you have a good excuse not to be a part of it. Also when a call for prayer meeting is announced it sounds too late for your convenience. Often times the nursing home ministry is not a good time and does not have a place in your schedule. To man, giving excuse for not serving might be reasonable but to the Lord God that is in control of our time, there is no reasonable excuse.Do you have reasonable excuse for no availability serving God sacrificially? Before God, there is no excuse that is acceptable. The best given excuse till date does not count before Him and no excuse shall count before Him forever.
Truly, there was no documentation in the Bible where Adam asked God for a woman. However, it was God’s plan to give to Adam a woman. It is written, “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Adam did not ask God for a woman; therefore, he had a great excuse before God. Adam presented a reasonable excuse for violating God stating, “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’” (Genesis 3:12)Just as it was clear during the time of Adam so it is clear today that, God made womangotAdamto do what God asked him not to do. Does your excuse sound reasonable like that of Adam? The most high God that never fail judging righteously responded to Adam, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:“Cursed is the ground for your sake;In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17)Adam’s excuse failed and he was cursed. Eve and the serpent also had their share of curse.
Excuses before God will not elevate one; they will only eliminate one or exclude one from the blessings of God. The best excuse eliminated Adam from God’s blessings; best given excuse was not enough to restore the cost of the damage.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from excuses that have been denying and replacing you the center of God’s blessings.

FAITH CAPSULE: The ability to be stable in looking up to God in times of instability will establish one in power.

1Samuel 13:1-23

It is written, “Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead…” (1 Samuel 13:5-7) The fear of the Philistines took over the Israelites and they scattered.
King Saul got emotion in his reaction to the challenges of the Philistines. The bible recorded, “So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came…” (1 Samuel 13:9-10) King Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel for the burnt offering (which could only be performed by Samuel and not by King Saul). King Saul knew that he should never present the burnt offering, but went ahead and presented it anyway. Then Samuel showed up and reacted to Saul’s wrong emotion, “And Samuel said, ‘What have you done? Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash.’”(1Samuel 13:11) Saul allowed emotion to override what God commanded of him. As one anointed of God for an assignment, you must never let your feelings or emotions override God’s commandment, or you will not be established. Samuel made it clear to Saul that God would have established his kingdom over Israel forever, but his emotions caused him to be disobedient and thus, removed him from becoming established. Emotions can be dangerous if they are allowed to override the word of God. The ability to be stable in looking up to God in times of instability will establish one in power. Isaiah 59:1 states, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” Whatever man beholds will hold man up or bring man down. We are to constantly behold the mighty hand of God which is strong enough to uphold us. Saul could not behold the hand of God but the move of men that surrounded him. The people scattered and he was compelled to make a rash decision. Wrong emotion replaced Saul from God’s plan for his life as a result he could not be established.
 
Prayer for today:Ask for the grace to keep you focus on God in every confronting situation.

FAITH CAPSULE: Slow down and uncover the cause of these sudden changes in your journey.

Numbers 22
 
It was at the time Balak was the king of Moabites that the children of Israel moved and camped in the plains of Moab. The people of Moabites reacted to the large number of the Israelites with fear. As a result of the children of Israel’s camping, Balak the Moabites King reacted, “Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” (Numbers 22:5-6)Balaam was a man that knows how to seek God but made a choice to go and answer to Balak’s request.
On the way going Balaam failed to pay attention to warning signals when his ride began to face challenges. While he was going to answer Balak’s request his donkey left the main route and began to roam from the field to the narrow paths–to vineyards and against the wall. All the redirection was to stop Balaam from answering where God did not call him. Having roamed around back and forth, the Angel of the LORD showed himself. Numbers 22:27, “And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’” As one that knows about how God operates, you do not have to go too far like Balaam before changing your route. Are you paying attention to the signals around you? You are experiencing unexpected changes in your journey which are sudden and they are happening too frequent. Your back road route is becoming blocked on a daily basis. Bumps in the road are causing you consistent delays, and your timely ride is bogged down with congestion. You need to slow down and uncover the cause of these sudden changes in your journey, because you are a person of faith, one that loves the Lord and serves Him from the heart.
Regardless of the purpose of your journey, pay attention to warning signals so that you may know if it is time to redirect your route for a change in your journey of life.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the word of direction to be a path to each and every step you take.

FAITH CAPSULE: Take the word of God into your heart and overtake your enemy.

Genesis 26:1-33
 
It is written, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”(Proverbs 16:7)The word of God is true indeed, it is true to perform and also true to perfect for those that receive and believe His word. One that receives the word sees what is received and when one begin to live by what is received, it answers for one. Why not receive and be living (believe) in the living word of God?
Isaac’s ways pleased the Lord and his enemies sought peace with him. In the time of challenging famine God spoke to Isaac, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.” (Genesis 26:2-3) Isaac obeyed God and he did not go down to Egypt. Isaac went and dwell in Gerar. At Gerar, he repeatedly had confrontations with the herdsmen of Gerar over the digging of wells. Every effort by Isaac and his servants to have a productive life at Gerar were interrupted by the herdsmen of Gerar. The herdsmen of Gerar kept taking away the wells that were dug by Isaac’s servants and would not leave them in peace. Isaac could have gone down to Egypt instead; he went to Beersheba and remained obedient to God’s ways. Those that had been tormenting Isaac with hatred turned around and looked for him to settle with a peace treaty. It is written, “And Isaac said to them, why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” But they said, we have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, ‘let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you.’’’(Genesis 26:27-28)  The herdsmen of Gerar encountered a change of mind towards Isaac when they saw God in him. They saw that the Lord was with Isaac. His walk and work for God made the difference. He was shining for God. How is your walk with God? How is your work in the Lord? Is there anything different in you compared to your next door neighbor who does not want to hear about the gospel? Let your light shine, let the gospel in you reflect that your neighbor shall come to understand and settle in peace. Know who you are and know not to be deceitful. The word of God is true and alive. Take the word of God into your heart and it will take over your life.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that makes man to gain peace with his/her enemies.

FAITH CAPSULE: Is there any area where you have withdrawn from God rather than drawing near unto Him?

2 Chronicles26, Isaiah 6:1-13
 
The word of God is not a decoration; it is a declaration to bring clarity and understanding for terminating all kinds of bondage. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became King in Judah instead of his father. He did all things right in the eyes of God when he became king because he sought God and God made him prosper. He fought wars of conquest and expansion. The Bible testifies that his fame spread far and wide. Despite all Uzziah’s doing, he fell short of God’s glory by not being consistent to the end. It is written,“But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.” 2 Chronicles 26:16-18)King Uzziah could not maintain consistency. Is there any area of your walk with God that has changed from when you first received a promotion as the overall supervisor? Is there any area where you have withdrawn from God rather than drawing near unto Him? If your answer is yes then you are headed for trouble. You have allowed inconsistency to settle in your life.
God does not need man for attainment but man needs God for his own attainment. God can always raise stone where man is not available. The Bible makes us to realize that with Uzziah’s inconsistent God raised another man in Isaiah that was consistent. It is written, “In the year that King Uzziah died, ‘I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”
Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah must have been seeing before that year of King Uzziah’s death. In all that he was seeing, nothing brought transformation into the life of Isaiah. However, as recorded in the scripture, the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw beyond what ordinary eyes can see. He saw the Lord, and that culminated in a transformation that settled Isaiah all the days of his life for the glory of God. The life of King Uzziah represented a life of inconsistency in seeking God. Right after Uzziah’s death God caused Isaiah to see and to take over with consistency.
 
Prayer for today:Ask God that any representative of King Uzziah (inconsistency) in your life should die a permanent death.