FAITH CAPSULE: Today many are taking to the role of Pilate both inside and outside of the church.

Mark 15: 15-41
 
Pilate compromised with evil desire of the world of the wicked ones when he released the wicked one to freedom and delivered the deliverer to be crucified. It is written, “So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15) 
Compromising with the wicked is like sacrificing ones destiny for termination. Have you been compromising lately? Eli’s major sin was revealed to Samuel when God called Samuel and told him, “…behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.  For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.”(1 Samuel 3:11-13) The sin of Eli was “the iniquity which he knows” Know to stand for what is right and do not stand for what is wrong. Compromising will complicate and terminate one’s destiny. Consciously or unconsciously are you scourging the Lord just as Pilate did? What is it that is causing you not to stand for Jesus and let the devil be ashamed? Thousands of years ago, Pilate compromised with the crowd to make them feel good so he decided to give the Lord Jesus up for persecution and crucifixion. Today, there are many that are playing the role of Pilate both inside and outside of the church. Many acclaimed Christians cannot identify with the name of Jesus outside of their church building. The Bible documented Pilate’s effect of compromise, “Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”(Mark 15:16-20)
Jesus came to give it all on the cross of Calvary and He gave it more abundantly that we may have life. (John 10:10)Be mindful that, “Jesus has paid it all for you on the cross so that we will not have to pay it all over again. If you are confessing Jesus, compromising your stand for Him should cease.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace and all that it takes not to compromise evil in any area of life.

FAITH CAPSULE:To wait on God is to gain rest in Him and not waiting on God is to waste.

1Samuel 1
 
It is written in Lamentation 3:25, “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seek Him.” There are so many benefits to gain from waiting. It is written, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) Life is a journey and the journey is incomplete until we get to the expected end. All that it takes to journey is to wait on Him. When we wait on God, our strength is supernaturally renewed. For anyone who waits on God, it will be impossible to walk where they are supposed to run. Also, it will be impossible to run where the journey demands walking. Have you been walking where your journey demands that you run? The goodness of God extends to the fact that He will wait for those who wait for Him. (Isaiah 30:18) By virtue of His word that cannot be broken, it is written, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” (Isaiah 64:4) God is the God who acts for the ones who wait for Him. As one who understands that the challenges of the wicked world require a precise and effective direction in getting to the expected end in life’s journey, what will it cost you to wait on God? Knowing that there is so much to gain in waiting on Him, why not look up and ask Him for the grace of waiting on Him?
NOT WAITING ON GOD
To wait on God is to gain rest in Him and not waiting on God is to waste. When the children of Israel failed to wait on God, they wasted away in the wilderness. Psalm 106:13-14, “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert.” A failure to meditate on His Word leads to forgetting His works and not waiting on Him. Once, Samuel commanded King Saul to wait for burnt offering. King Saul did not wait but went further to carry out the offering against the Law of Moses. Samuel came and responded to King Saul’s inability to wait stating, “…but now your kingdom shall not continue…” (1 Samuel 13:14) King Saul could not wait and wasted when God did not permit him to get to his expected end.
There is so much to gain and nothing to lose from waiting on God. Understand and know to wait on the Lord because, “… those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” (Psalm 37:9)
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of waiting on Him?

FAITH CAPSULE: Waiting on God can usually entail staying for either a short or long period of time.

1 Samuel 1
 
Jesus, in His Parable of Persistent Widow, pointed out that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Praying to God with persistency when answer is yet to be manifested is waiting on God. Hannah’s barrenness did stop her from going to Shiloh yearly to worship and sacrifice to God. Hannah was persistent until God opened her womb.
Waiting on God can usually entail staying for either a short or long period of time. God answers individual in different ways and at different times. God cannot to be rushed ahead of His appointed time of manifestation. The Psalmist mentioned different lengths of time for waiting: Psalm 25:5:“…On you I will wait all day.” Psalm 62:1, “Truly my soul silently waits for God…” Psalm 37:7, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Hosea 12:6, “…wait on your God continually.” Philippians 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Clearly the time for waiting on God has to be spent patiently, continually, silently and eagerly. Waiting on God can take longer than expected but God will always manifest Himself when we patiently wait on Him.
IN TIME OF WAITING
In your waiting, acknowledge God, remind Him and always make your request known to Him.
Acknowledge God: He is a jealous God and the antidote to jealousy is attention. God enjoys our attention. Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” What do you know about Him that needs to be activated for your breakthrough? The Psalmist’s statement acknowledges Him, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way.” (Psalm 25:8) Waiting without acknowledging the Lord is waiting in anguish.
Reminding God: Reminding God is not because God has forgotten you. God encourages us in Isaiah 45:11, “…and concerning the works of my hands, you command me.” It is only those who remember the works of His hands that will know how to command Him as stated in His word. The Psalmist reminded Him in Psalm 25:6, “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses…” God is a good and great God.
Request from God: He wants us to ask so we shall be given. Jesus encourages us, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) The Psalmist requested, “Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.” (Psalm 25:16) He is the God of salvation and not a slave master and He will respond to our request to demonstrate His love for us.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be persistent when need demands it.

FAITH CAPSULE: Waiting on God is keeping His way.

Matthew 6
 
King David, a man after God’s own heart, shared his experience in Psalm 37:34 stating, “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land…” Undoubtedly, waiting on God is keeping His way. The way of God is the Word of God. Jesus the living Word of God stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Keeping the way of God is in praying, fasting, spending time in His Word and watching for the manifestation of expectation.
Waiting in Prayer: Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Who can instructor or teach waiting in prayer more ideally than Jesus?
Waiting in Fasting: Just as Jesus mentioned waiting in prayer, so also He mentioned waiting in fasting. Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”  To wait on God by fasting will not end in wasting.
For both praying and fasting, Jesus did not say ifyou pray or fast, He specifically stated, “When you pray and fast” indicating fasting and praying as a must be done by His disciples.
Wait by spending time watching: Micah testified to spending time waiting and watching. “Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7) In looking up to God and waiting to hear from Him, one will receive only when one can see in the spoken word of God. Looking up to God, spend time in His living Word. He is a faithful God and He will speak His Word that never fails.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of keeping His way in your waiting.

FAITH CAPSULE: Without absolute trust in waiting on God, there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God.

Isaiah 40
 
God does not waste word. Have you received and believe in Christ as Lord and savior through the word as documented in the pages of the Bible? Why not take every word with passion? God promised in His word, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) God is not a man that He should tell lies and whatever He says He will do is a done deal. Remember, the word of God does not return back to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11)
Are you lacking in the area of His rest?
The way into God’s rest is in waiting on Him. Not waiting on Him is the way to go astray. Going astray is rooted in the heart. Manifestly, any heart that goes astray will miss His way. God is a good God and to end in a bad way is not of God. This is to say what is not good is not God. God is a God of time and process. His time is not like man’s time; likewise His process is not any man’s process. God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be.
Waiting on God can be defined as: remaining unmoving, inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens; to look onward to expectation eagerly. Waiting on God is also putting off further activity until later. Waiting on God usually entails staying for a short or long time and for a definite purpose; that is, for something expected. Without absolute trust in waiting on God, there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God. The Psalmist testifies, “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:2-3) Trusting in God is what energizes waiting on Him. Trusting in God does have blessings and not trusting in Him will also generate curses. God spoke in Jeremiah 17:5, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” In regard to blessing, the same Word of God states in Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord”. How can you wait on whom you do not trust? Evidently, having trust in place will enable waiting on Him.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of waiting to have a place in your life.