FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus is the only one who is able to pull man through, not man.

John 5:1-17

Paralysis can be defined as, a state of helpless stoppage, inactivity, or inability to act. At every time one accepts paralysis as a condition, one will not be able to identify deliverance when it shows up. Also it is a condition that will cause man to look for help where there is no help. The Bible talked about a certain paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda with the paralysis of thirty eight years. The certain man was at Bethesda meaning, ‘House of mercy’ but yet there was no mercy in place for him to come out of his paralysis. The Bible described what transpires at the pool of Bethesda, “In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.” (John 5:3-4)The Lord knows how often you have been to your house of mercy, but mercy was not in place to address your situation. You have been in the same situation for years yet you have not received your merciful healing or deliverance. Some have come after you and received their merciful healing or deliverance. As one that believes in the goodness and mercy of God, does it concern you that you go to the same place where others have come and have received breakthrough? Are you like the paralytic man who was at the Gate near a pool which is called Bethesda meaning house of mercy? It is written, “Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:5-7)That same place where the paralytic man lay was the same place where many had been healed. That same place where you have been visiting is the same place where people with similar issues as yours have been getting their breakthrough. The difference between those that have been receiving healing and the paralytic man was that the paralytic man was looking unto man where God’s healing provision was available. Today, will you turn to a new approach, that of, “The Lord is my Shepherd?” He is the only one who can deliver you your healing. Jesus is the only one who is able to pull man through, not man.

Prayer for today: Have mercy on me as Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 

FAITH CAPSULE:Can you take a moment and think if your life has been fruitful or fruitless?

Mark 11:12-24

When a creation disappoints its creator, that creation automatically positions itself for destruction. This was the case of a fig tree that failed to deliver to the expectation of Jesus. It is written, “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.” (Matthew 21:18-19) Just as the fig tree was a disappointment to Jesus, have you been living a life of disappointment in any area of His expectation from you? A tree that was supposed to be fruitful was fruitless. The fig tree was not fruitless to itself alone but also to the creator. The one that gives life expects fruitfulness. As a living creation of God, to be fruitless in the business of God in life is like a living dead. Being a living dead is evident when Jesus did not curse the tree to die but it died. All that Jesus said to the tree was, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” The tree died immediately when it could not produce for the creator. Have you been producing fruit to the glory of God? The Bible states that, “Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.”(Mark 11:20) Jesus did not curse the tree to die but not being able to produce fruit marked it as dead. The leaves on the fig tree were rich and attractive, its leaves were inviting, loud, and clear, but there was no fruit to back up the rich appearance of leaves which it carries. In the eyes of man are you like the leaves of the fig tree? God does not go by what is seen on the outside but only go by what is in the inside just as the word testifies, “…For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” (1Samuel 2:3) Can you take a moment and think if your life has been fruitful or fruitless for God’s business? The leaves of the fig tree were inviting to the point that Jesus could see it from far but there was nothing the fig tree could offer Jesus. When Jesus showed up, it was a time of accountability, but the fig tree does not have any fruit to account for. As a result, its life has to be taken back by the Creator. God meant business when He asked you to be fruitful and multiply. He expects to see the fruitfulness when He comes back.

Prayer for today: Ask God for enablement to be fruitful for the purpose of your calling.

FAITH CAPULE: Focus is the secret of failure impossibility

Luke 5:17-26

Whenever the Word is present to heal and to deliver, the world’s agent will present itself to kill and to deny healing. However, the enemy cannot be more powerful to stop one that maintains focus to receive healing from the Words presence. It is written, “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” (Luke 5:17) At every appearance of Jesus (the Word) healing is also present. The presence of the Word brought a paralyzed man to seek for healing. On that certain day as mentioned in the scriptural verse above, crowd was the agent of healing denial on ground. It is written concerning the paralyzed man that needed healing, “And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” (Luke 5:19) The carriers refused to acknowledge the hindrance. They did not give attention to what they were seeing on the ground because they came with expectation for a manifestation. They were confident of what they wanted when they let the paralytic down through the tiling of the ceiling. There was no doubt at any level of their need for his healing. The carriers maintained their focus on the objective (expectation). Focus was the factor for their faith. Focus is the secret of failure impossibility; focus is the central point of attention. Focus is what will produce a clear necessary image unto distance from any point. In using a camera to take picture, when there is no focus there will be no good picture. In expectation for a miracle, when there is no focus there will be no manifestation. The paralyzed man and his carrier had faith and focus was a fuel that drives their faith to manifestation. The Bible recorded, “When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luke 5: 20) The faith that tore the roof will prevail in provoking the hand of God to move and the crowd to fail. The faith that tore the roof provoked Jesus to give a command stating, “…I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (Luke 5:24) Those who brought the paralytic denied the crowd by faith and the paralytic walked away from stagnation. 

Prayer for today:God will give you the grace to deny every hand of the crowd in all that concerns you and your stagnation will be converted into motion in the name of Jesus.  

FAITH CAPSULE: God’s acknowledgement is all that is needed to terminate your entire struggle from bondage.

Exodus 2:23-25, 3:1-10, Isaiah 6,

What or who is it that needs to die before you gain motion from every area of stagnation? It is written concerning Isaiah, “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. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said…” (Isaiah 6:1-4) It took the death of King Uzziah for Isaiah to begin to see, hear and speak where he could not before the death of King Uzziah. It was after the death of King Uzziah that Isaiah was brought to the ground where he could not operate before. After the death of Uzziah, Isaiah’s lips were touched, his iniquity was taken away, and it was also the time he answered the calling of the Lord’s assignment for his life. The children of Israel were in bondage for over four hundred years without any mention of there attempt to come out of bondage. It could have been that they were hiding the pain or they were suffering in silence. Also, it could have been that they could not see what God wanted them to see. As a result of the death of the King of Egypt, the story of the children of Israel changed. Exodus 2:23, “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out: and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.” The point here is, pray to God that any thing, any situation or any person that is representing the King of Egypt (King of Bondage), in your life should die a permanent death in your land. When the King of Egypt died in the land where the children of Israel had been in bondage, they were able to see the need to groan and cry for freedom. You need to be freed into God’s service, where bondage has been keeping you down and you remain stagnant. When the King died, the children of Israel moved God with a characterized call–a call that made God prone to act. Exodus 2:25, “And God looked upon the children of Israel and God acknowledge them.” God’s acknowledgement is all that is needed to terminate your entire struggle from bondage.

Prayer for today: Ask God that whatever has taken reign over your life, whatever is not of Him, whatever is representing the King of Egypt should die just as it was for the children of Israel.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be filled with the Spirit and be full of God.

Ephesians 5:13-21

The book of Ephesians identified four ways to be filled with the Spirit, “but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:19-21) The three verses above encourage every believer with four ways about how to be filled with the Spirit. Among the four ways that are mentioned giving thanks, always, for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus is one way that is easily taken for granted. How are you living a “thanks-giving” life? The passage requires giving thanks always when situations are going the way we want it and when situations are going the way we do not want it. Thanks giving should always be the song. It can be challenging to give thanks when confronting situation becomes exceedingly challenging and testing. Giving thanks to God is not an every now and then sacrifice it should be a regular sacrifice. Giving thanks should not be based on how you feel, but to fill your heart with thanking God. Just as the verse above requires giving thanks for all things, another verse in the book of Romans declared what will be for those that give thanks for all things. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It can be said that when thanks is given for all things all the time, all things will work together for good. The word of God is directly related and none of His word can be left out to achieve the purpose of another. The word of God is spirit and when it is being done in us it becomes evidence that the Spirit of God dwells in us. The word of God is what we need to fill us; build us and position us to inherit our possession in Christ Jesus. Are you taking to the word of God in part or in whole? Take to the word of God in whole by giving thanks for all things and all things will work together for good. Are you giving thanks always to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus? In addition to speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, start to give thanks for all things, and you will be filled with the Spirit. The word of God is Spirit and it is true to perform and perfect. Be filled with the Spirit and be full of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s enablement to live by His word.