FAITH CAPSULE: Thank God for Jesus the Peace of God.

Jeremiah 29: 4-14, John 16:25-33

Jesus said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus came to give abundant life. He also stated another place that, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Jesus did not stop talking about peace when He further stated, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) In all of the words of Jesus above, it is clear that having abundant life is inhabited in the peace that Jesus brought. This is to say that receiving and having Jesus, the gift, the reason for the season into our life is where abundant life is. Challenges will come and the enemy will roar but with Jesus, the Peace of God, the enemies will fail to rear its head against one. It is only the peace that comes from God that will give true hope for your future. God was speaking to the children of Israel who were being carried away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God made the captives know that His thoughts for them were ones of peace, not evil. The message of God is that peace, not evil, gives your future hope. Determination will fail, effort will not answer, and human plans will only work for a while before they fail. There is no substitute for the peace of God when there is a need for motion in your life. When Jesus was crucified, the disciples went and shut themselves up. The disciples were afraid of those who crucified Jesus (John 20:19). The disciples could not move, because they thought their future and hope had also been crucified. Thank God for Jesus the Peace of God. Behind the closed door, Jesus showed up and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Where there is no peace, evil will take its place. Praying for the peace of God in these evil days will cause a believer to live a life that has a future and a hope in Christ Jesus. It is recorded in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” These words of Paul the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are necessary prayer points to live by on a daily basis. God will answer your prayer in Jesus’ name.

Prayer for today: Let Your mercies come to also to me O Lord-Your salvation according to Your word. (Psalm 119:41)

FAITH CAPSULE: Let God know that you know Him.

1Samuel 17:31-37

The God that fought on behalf of David against Goliath is God that never fail. When waiting on God is truly based on the testimonies of His work and the manifestation of His promises, victory becomes certain. It is written about God, “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) Knowing God is personal. One has to know God for who He is and what He can do. What is it that you do not know about Him? The work of God is more than enough and everywhere to thank Him. Psalmist declared, “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” (Psalm 75:1) All we need to do is look around to know that He alone is God; He is unfailing and He is a mighty warrior. Knowing God personally will move one to do exploit for His glory where others are being removed unto shame. King Saul’s prayer, when David was to take on Goliath was short, and heaven answered on behalf of David. Before the prayer, King Saul had tried to persuade David not to go and confront Goliath. He explained to David that because he was a youth, he could not possibly take on a giant (not just a giant but a warrior giant). David, knowing what God had done in his life could not accept the King’s advice but maintained his ground of testimony. Has He done anything for you that lead you to believe He will not fail? If not, look at the things He created just by His Word and the revelation of His Lordship will cause you to trust in Him. David went further in pleading his case to go after Goliath, 1Samuel 17:36, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defiled the armies of the living God. Moreover, David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”(1Samuel 17:37) David had a testimony and a confession of faith. Saul provoked the hand of God just by a Word of prayer and David became a winner. Do you have a testimony that you can meditate on? Just like David, let God know that you know Him. Let Him know the greatness of what He has done in your life and He will be provoked and will bring to pass your victory which is not yet sight.   

Prayer for today: Ask God for His hand that answered for David to answer against your Goliath.

FAITH CAPSULE: A reasonable sacrifice unto God will deliver a reasonable response from God.

1 Kings 3:3-15

Sacrificing unto God is worshiping God. Worshiping God is an on going as along there is breath of life. Sacrificing unto God can be convenient or inconvenient at times but commitment is what matters and counts before God. It is written, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)It is important to understand that our sacrifices unto God should always be acceptable and reasonable to God. The Bible describes God, “…For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” (1 Samuel 2:3) The action behind our sacrifice is clear unto God and only God determines the acceptability of our sacrifice. A reasonable and acceptable sacrifice unto God will no doubt provoke the hand of God to favor. God demands a reasonable sacrifice. A reasonable sacrifice unto God will deliver a reasonable response from God. When His hand is deposited reasonably upon your life, every reason to stand out becomes undeniable. King Solomon was such a King that the world never stopped reasoning about the kind of wisdom he demonstrated in his life. David made us aware that Solomon had always been a wise man before God’s hand was provoked in adding a wise and understanding heart to Solomon. David said to Solomon, “Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.” (1 Kings2:9)This verse points out that Solomon had always been a wise man. However, when King Solomon offered a reasonable sacrifice, his story turned around forever. It is recorded about Solomon, “Now the King went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what shall I give you?’”(1 Kings 3:4-5) Solomon worshiped God with reasonable sacrifice and his sacrifice provoked the hand of God. Is your sacrifice provoking the hand of God or is it revoking it? Do you remember Cain’s sacrifice? Your sacrifice matters; it will deposit an uncharacteristic power of God that is unparalleled in your life. 1 Kings 3:12, “Behold I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” A reasonable sacrifice will provoke a reasonable God-investment in your life. God deposited a wise and understanding heart in King Solomon. 

Prayer for today: O Lord, instruct me and teach me in the way to go that I shall live for your glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Let yesterday be yesterday in your journey. Do not complain.

Exodus 16:1-7

Looking back into all that happened in the past without the heart of praising and thanking God should be considered as an act of non verbal way of complaining to God. Complain is nothing but an act of rebellion. The Bible recorded that when it was time for God to destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin, Lot lingered and his wife and children were virtually hand held for their removal by the angels of God. (Genesis 19:16) Evidently, they were reluctant to leave and move forward. The angels that brought them out turned to them stating, “…Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17) The instruction for total deliverance was not to look behind. To Lot’s wife, doing the opposite was the ideal because she could not let the past be in the past. Lot’s wife looked back not to thank God but because she could not let go. Lot’s wife demonstrated a non-verbal complain as she became a pillar of salt. Just as Lot’s wife demonstrated a non-verbal complain, the children of Israel demonstrated a verbal complain. The children of Israel left Egypt and Egypt could not leave them. The Israelites continued to look back complaining, instead of looking back in thanksgiving and praising God. With every step they took forward, they turned to look back on the life they were leaving while in Egypt. The children of Israel constantly engaged in verbal complain at every ground of lack. Complaining was a major breakdown that denied them from reaching their destination. Are you looking back into the past months or years to compare? The Red Sea had not yet granted passage to the huge number of the Israelites before the complaining started. The Israelites began to complain and they also confessed negativity that eventually trapped them in the wilderness. The Bible recorded, “And the children of Israel said to them, oh that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”(Exodus 16:3) Complementing God instead of complaining to God for His goodness and mercy for all years past is an avenue to total deliverance. What are your confessions in your focusing on the past months and years? The Bible clearly warned, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.” (Proverbs 6:2) “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”(Proverbs 13:3)Let yesterday be yesterday in your journey. Do not complain. Turn from complaining to praising Him with a heart of thanksgiving.

Prayer for today: Bless the name of God for His goodness and mercy.  

FAITH CAPSULE: Steadfastness and undivided in one’s belief defines integrity.

Job 1, 2:1-10,

David recorded, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:10-11) Steadfastness is the key word here. Every believer that is filled with the spirit of God will need to be steadfast and undivided in the spirit to remain or maintain the presence of God. Steadfastness and undivided in one’s belief defines integrity. The word of God states, “The integrity of the upright will guide them…” (Proverbs 11:3) The life of Job is one that describes and deliver the understanding of how integrity is a character that guides in the face of sever adversity and prevent one from violating God. Job stands out as one that God declared as a man of integrity (steadfast and undivided). It is written, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3) Job’s integrity was the secret of being guided from failing God during Satan’s assault on him. The assault on Job was not enough to derail Job from his walk with the Lord. From the first assault to the second, and throughout his life, it was clear that Job was a man who would not digress from integrity. From the period of wellness to the time of severe affliction Job, maintained steadfastness and undivided service unto God. The Bible describes him like no any other character stating, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”(Job 1:1) Job received the devastating news about the loss of his property and the deaths of his children on the same day, yet he did not withdraw to complain or be angry with God, It is written, “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.”(Job 1:20) As if the first assault was not enough, Satan struck the second time with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. To add more to Job’s adversity, the wife also despised him saying, “…Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” It is clear that Job’s integrity kept him in the presence of God. Obviously, maintaining integrity will no doubt cause a believer to regain all that the enemy has stolen.

Prayer for today: Ask God to create in you a clean heart and to renew a steadfast spirit within you.