Category Archives: Devotions

HAVE FAITH NOT FEAR

FAITH CAPSULE: Have faith that drowns the fear of the world and not have a place.

Job1, 2:1-10

Do you fear God or not?
One with no fear of God consciously extends an invitation to the enemy of all.
The word of God described Job, “…blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And he had seven sons and three daughters. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.” (Job 1:1-3)
Job was a man of God.
He was straight with God, but he was not sure of the walk of his children with God.
Job was constantly sanctifying his children.
Job was rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings according to the number of his children, as stated: “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” (Job 1:4-5)
After Satan was allowed by God to attack Job, he lost his properties, his children, and his health.
By virtue of all his adversities, he deplores his birth by cursing the day of his birth.
On top of it all, Job gave a testimony, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.” (Job 3:25-26) What could have been the fear of Job?
Job became exposed to fear as he opened himself up to the fear of the world.
Fear is not of God; fear is the initiation of evil.
Whenever fear rises in life, faith will sink.
Fear and faith do not complement each other.
What could have happened to Job to be exercising great fear?
One with a lack of understanding of the extent of protective covering of God over the affairs of all in the areas of our concern will possibly be exposed to fear and not have faith.
Clearly, God is not pleased without faith.
Unfortunately, Satan knew the extent of the protection of God over Job when he mentioned that God had made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he had on every side. (Job 1:10)
When God makes you impenetrable, do not make yourself penetrable for Satan.
One with a lack of understanding of what God can do shall become exposed to Satan, to gain a position with pain.
Psalmist states, “A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.” (Psalm 49:20)
All should know that God is mindful of all, He visits, and He crowns with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:4-5)
Give yourself to the word of God to know and understand that God delivers and preserves.

Prayer for today: Ask that faith in God rise in your life, as fear of the world be drowned and not have a place in your life.

DEMONSTRATE THE WORD

FAITH CAPSULE: To live the word is rooted in having faith.

Psalm 40

Patiently wait for the word of God to gain His attention.
Believing the word of God is living by the word of God.
To live the word is rooted in having faith.
Faith does have the source: Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
The Bible describes faith as: “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Do you believe in God?
Abraham believed and was enabled to live a life of obedience.
Hebrews 11: 8-10 stated: “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  
With faith, Abraham distinctly did things that made him obtain good testimony and to live life with a full understanding of God: he obeyed by going as commanded by God; by faith, he dwelt in a strange land; and by faith, he waited on God’s promise.
A man’s waiting on God in all endeavors to gain in the promise of God can be impossible when there is no patience.
Abraham waited patiently for God’s word to arrive at God’s center of divine assignment for his life.
Abraham patiently waited for the word of God.
In all his walks, he did not miss out on the promise of God.
David testified, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1) Waiting on God with patience is getting God’s attention.
When one with patience cannot focus, distraction will deny waiting on God.
King Saul had a direction to keep him waiting patiently for God, but the distractions of his surroundings prompted his disobedience.
The Bible records: “Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. 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…” (I Samuel 13:9-10)
With no patient to wait, King Saul violated the word of God by not waiting for seven days as requested by Samuel.
Are you waiting on God according to His word?
Psalm 84:11 encourages all, stating, “…no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Walking upright by waiting patiently in life endeavors is the character of a believer.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable your life to be upright in the journey of life.

HEART AND SOUL

FAITH CAPSULE: Giving heart and soul to God will find God.

Genesis 22

The truth of God is: He alone is the Lord God.
He alone is the perfect God.
He creates all without a contract for a co-creator.
The majority know only about Him.
It is a few who know Him.
Few who know Him understand Him.
It is what one possesses about His understanding that will determine how far one with understanding goes with Him.
It is reasonable for all to know, understand, and be mindful of the truth that God alone created all to live life for His glory and honor.
Revelations 4:11 records, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will, they exist and were created.” 
There is no reasonable excuse for anyone not to live life for the glory and honor of God, giving regard to Him, not taking him for granted. 
Psalm 28:5 records, “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up.”
With the breath of life, please God in all the ways of life.
Knowing God as a long-suffering God without living life for His glory is not a license for anyone not to be living life for the glory of God. 
Live life for God by lifting hands in submission before God.
God is a good God who is worthy of all, to live for His glory.
Seeking God diligently with all heart and with all soul is to find Him. 
Deuteronomy 4:29 speaks to all, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”  What to do is to live life for God when seeking God diligently instead of taking God for granted.
Know to seek God diligently and be obedient.
Exodus 19:5 records “Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” 
Seek God diligently and obey Him as a way of life.
The fear of God drives one to seek Him and obey Him with no reservation.
The character of Abraham is of living for God, of one who knows God.
Abraham lived life for the glory of God.
Abraham could not withhold from the command of God as commanded by God.
God recognized the obedience of Abraham to His word and said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12)
Abraham could not take God for granted; he lived life for God by seeking God with all his heart and soul.

Prayer for today: Ask that God enable you to live life for His glory.

RETAIN FOCUS

FAITH CAPSULE: To be enticed is to be lured away from the point of focus.

2 Samuel 11

The enemy of all men is the master of deception.
An attempt to capture the minds of others can be a device of enticement.
Enticement can be an attempt with evil intent against others or to establish good relations.
Enticement will always be a cunning device of the devil with no respect for any man under heaven.
The agenda of the devil is to engage in enticement to bring his victim down into a pit of sin.
Enticement and temptation are birds of the same feather.
Know and not dance to the sound of enticement but remain focused on the word of God.
To be enticed is to be lured away from the point of focus.
The temptation is not sin, but falling for temptation will cause a man to sink into sin.
King David did not accidentally fall for the sin of sexual immorality, which he committed with Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife). It was through seeing (which is the anchor of enticement) that King David entrap himself into sin.
2 Samuel 11:2 The Bible records the avenue to the sin of David, “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”  
David, at the right place at the wrong time, fell into sin.
David saw a woman bathing, and he could not resist the temptation of sin; however, he went on to inquire about the woman who belonged to another man.
Getting carried away by enticement will lead to a deadly avenue of sinning before God.
Are you paying attention to avoid the wrong place, not to become a victim of sin against God?
The master of deception has been around long enough to draw one into the sin of destruction.
Jesus had the experience of the enticer but could not become a failure like Eve.
Today, be warned and wise to know that if Jesus experienced the enticement of the enemy, no man is above the cunning enticement of the enemy.
Which of your needs is leading you to become a victim of the enticer?
Apostle Paul said, in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 
Abstain from seeing in the wicked world; take to the Word of God.
Today, open your mouth wide and begin to give Him thanks for all He has done; praise God for all He is doing and all that He will do.
Live life by giving thanks and praise and not becoming a victim of the enemy, the enticer.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God not to expire over your life to become a victim of the enemy.

DESIRE TO BE HUMBLE

FAITH CAPSULE: An acclaimed believer should desire the mind of Christ.

John 13

What kind of man are you?
How is your mind before God?
To capture living life for God is to have the mind of Jesus.
Paul admonished in Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
What is it about the mind of Christ?
Do you have the mind of Christ?  
Have you thought about the mind of Jesus?
The mind of Christ is humble, a mind that is plain, simple, and set before God.
A humble mind is not about thinking less of ourselves, but about thinking of others with love.
A humble mind encourages us to think about the people
To the world, to be a humble mind can be perceived as weak but wrong.
Humble can lead to more happiness and better relationships with others.
A humble person should not do things through selfish ambition, but esteem others better than oneself.
Jesus showed the greatest example of humility when He washed the feet of His disciples and gave His. 
Jesus demonstrated for His disciples then and today about the importance of humility in John 13:1, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from the supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” (John 13:3-5)
There is no perfect way to teach and demonstrate what it means to be humble than the documentation of Jesus, His way of humility.
Once, Jesus was asked, “…Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1).
Jesus responsed clearly described humility as the way to become the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom.” (Matthew 18:3-4)
To be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is distant for all until one is converted to become like a little child.
The title of any man on earth is not evidence of humility or a ticket to becoming the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
One that is not full of the word of God is not with the Spirit of God.
Little children have a mindset of humility, not pride.
With the identity of malice, deception, and unforgiveness, one cannot see God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the mind of Christ Jesus to become in you.