FAITH CAPSULE: Stop looking at your situation through natural eyes and begin to look up to Jesus.

Mark 5:1-20

The mad man of Gadarenes was a father of all the mad ones during his time. He was described as one, “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” (Mark 5:3-5)By all the evidence as presented in the Bible, it is justifiable for him to be called the father of all mad. There is no any other case of madness in the Scriptures that measure up to his madness. Evidently, he was not bound-able since he could pull chains apart. The mad man’s case presented untouchable challenges. Do you have a case that is exceedingly untouchable and very complicated with no hope at sight? Does your case present a no way out situation? The mad man was on a no-way out level. However, when the mad man of Gadarenes encountered the One and only One deliverer, his situation changed from that of a mad man to one with a right mind. Despite his madness, “When he saw Jesus afar, he ran and worshiped Him.” (Mark 5:6) The same Jesus is nearer to you than you can imagine. He is the Omnipresent and Omnipotent One. Today, begin to worship Him. Stop looking at your situation through natural eyes and begin to look up to Jesus. In your worship, know that He is more than capable to loose all the unloose-able, and to bind all the unbound-able that are causing you pain and torment. He is the living God and He will speak to your situation if you will listen to receive His word of deliverance. Jesus the living Word of deliverance said to him, “…Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”(Mark 5:8)At the word of Jesus, the mad man regained his right mind. Jesus will speak to your situation; He will not let you be wasted in this journey of life. He will cause all of your torment to be converted to enjoyment. With the Word of God, your pain will be converted to great gain. If the mad man could run to Him and worship Him despite his madness, you too can also run and not walk to Him. Jesus tamed un-tame able in the mad man’s life and He will tame your un-tame able issues. Will you run to Him like the mad man did? To have a right mind is your portion in Jesus Name.

Prayer for today: Every issue of agony and regret will vacate you in the glorious name of Jesus.

FAITH CAPSULE: Keep yourself alive by keeping the living word as it sounds in your direction.

Mark 4

Through out Jesus’ time on the face of earth He did not take any step without a reason or purpose behind it. Mark 4 begins by stating, “And He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got in the boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.”At that sea, He taught the parable of the soils, parable of the Lamp, parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed. All of the parables were centered on the word and the need for the word to grow and not be hidden just as light cannot be hidden. All the people who were present had received teaching while facing the sea that would have to be crossed over. Having exposed the people to His teaching, the Bible states that, “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’” (Mark 4:35)Jesus knew all things and He could have called for crossing-over during the daytime before it was evening. Are you receiving your teaching that will carry you through a sea that needs to be crossed-over? They were all seated facing the sea not knowing that their next call was to cross the sea that was before them. It is important to pay attention and allow the entrance of the word at every gathering for His teaching. The Psalmist made us to realize that, “The entrance of Your words gives light…” (Psalm 119:130) The Word of God is the light that will take us through the journey of life. Jesus came and He gave His life to enable our cross over. Have you accepted Him indeed and in truth as your Lord and Savior? During the journey to the other side, a storm took over while Jesus was asleep the disciples were awake in fear. Fear is what sinks the believer, but faith is what keeps believers from sinking. Wherever storms are threatening you from crossing-over the word will see you through in crossing over. The word of His teaching that you have been receiving is enough to see you through in the journey of life. Take to the Word of God and the word will carry you through. After Jesus had called for peace, “…He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’”(Mark 4:40)Is Jesus talking to you? If not for the word that He spoke to the storm, the disciples would have failed getting to the other side. Keep yourself alive by keeping the living word as it sounds in your direction.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask for Your word to have its place n my life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Absolutely nothing answers perfect in life when the hand of God is absent.

Exodus 3:13-22

If there is anything to desire, it should be for the hand of God. The hand of God is mighty and great in restoration. It was the hand of God that brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of over four hundred years. God that knows the end from the beginning knew that words would not be enough for Moses to get Pharaoh committed to the deliverance of over four hundred years. Exodus 3:19-20, “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”  Deliverance was manifested through the hand of God. Without the hand of God in operation, it would have been a no go for the children of Israel. 1Kings 18:46, “Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” Elijah did not have to be behind but ahead. As a result of the Lord’s hand, Elijah moved from behind to being ahead of the king Ahab who was riding on the chariot. Whatever challenge has been put in place to keep you behind; the hand of God will locate you and put you ahead in every area in Jesus Name. At the process of building the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, discouragement was among the forces that Ezra needed to overcome. Ezra stated, “…so I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me” (Ezra 7:28) The hand of God should be constantly prayed for in every area of living life. It is the same hand of God that Nehemiah testified as the reason for getting the project of reconstruction through in Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:18, “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me, and also of the king’s word that he had spoken unto me…”The hand of God is clearly encouraging, delivers and is good upon all whom He stretches His hand to reach. What is stopping you from crying out unto Him and asking for His mighty and everlasting hand to have its way in your life? Absolutely nothing answers perfect in life when the hand of God is absent. Is there a need for your ministry to grow? Ask for the hand of God Acts 11:21, And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Pray for today: Cause Your hand to reign and rule in my life O Lord my God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus is not a magician, but He is a miracle working God.

Mark 3:1-5

Jeremiah 10:12 declared, “He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.” (Jeremiah 10:12)He is the only God and His ways are higher than our ways. Waiting to see Jesus move the same way He moved in your neighbor’s miracle will take forever in you receiving your healing breakthrough. Jesus does not move by man’s calculation, but by His compassion. Who can calculate how or what His move is going to be? At the time of His healing the man with leprosy, “…Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing: be cleansed.’”(Mark 1:41) It was Jesus who stretched out to heal the man with leprosy. The same Jesus approached a man with a withered hand and commanded him to stretch out his hand in Mark 3:5, “And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as a whole as the other.”Jesus is not a magician, but He is a miracle working God. In miracles, you do not know how your expectation is going to be manifested. Miracle is an extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers. Why not take a step forward in faith for your own miracle? Before the man with the withered hand encountered his miracle, there was a need for him to step forward. Mark 3:3-4, “And He said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Step forward…”The man took a step of faith and all that could deny his miracle were silent. What are the issues that are holding you from stepping forward when you need to step forward in your breakthrough miracle? Are you calculating how your miracle is going to happen? Jesus is not a mathematician or a magician, but He will move on your behalf if you will take a step of faith. Taking note of how He did your neighbor’s miracle will not help you because to the leper He stretched out His hand. The same Jesus requested the man with withered hand to stretch his hand. With understanding in the word and work of His hand, gain the knowledge that He will not fail you. The man with the withered hand stepped forward; he did not wait for Jesus to stretch unto Him. Your miracle will come in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Hear my prayer and let my cry come up to You. Do not hide your face from me.

FAITH CAPSULE: Whatever God meant to be right and for good, the devil meant to be wrong and evil.

Genesis 1, 2

God created heaven and earth by His word. Genesis 1:3-4 recorded, “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…” God spoke to many of His creation, but when it came to the creation of man, the Bible records, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) Man was hand made by God but not by spoken word of God. Just as man was created differently so were greater light and lesser light. Genesis 1:16-17 stated, “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.” God, our creator, knew exactly what He was doing after the creation of man. He recognized the need for His special hand made (Adam) and He put him to sleep, “…He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman…” (Genesis 2:21-22) The purpose of making a woman out of Adam was to create a comparable helper. Knowing the devil for who he is, whatever God meant for good, the devil meant it for evil. God’s plan for both man and woman (comparable helper) to function successfully was in a transparent relationship. It is written, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) Helping each other evidently became hurting each other when Eve ate from the fruit which God had warned against eating. With transparent relationship, Eve would not have eaten against God’s command before telling Adam. Eve violated the command of God for a comparable helper.Is your relationship with your comparable helper transparent? When you begin to eat where your comparable helper does not know about you have allowed the enemy to have a place in your relationship. The absence of transparency between you and your comparable helper is the evidence that nakedness is absent. Deny the evil one from sowing the seed of asunder into your relationship with your comparable helper. The perfect God knows what is good for your relationship. Beware of the fact that lack of transparency might last but it will not take your relationship far enough in your life journey. Changes are never too late if you will acknowledge your violation of God’s command.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask this day for your word to have its place in my marriage.