FAITH CAPSULE: What is it that you hold against God?

GENESIS 22

A reasonable sacrifice before God will gain the blessing of God.
The obedience of Abraham to the word of God made him gain from God.
Genesis 22:2  records the word of God to Abraham: “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 
The word of God for Abraham is a costly command, a sacrifice, and very challenging to engage.
God demands a sacrifice that can be emotional.
Obedience sacrifice is to honor God to become elevated for good. 
Are you obeying God as the Lord leads?
God asked for Isaac as an offering, but Abraham could not question or disobey.
Abraham rose early in the morning to obey God without consulting anyone.
When God calls for you, count out the whole world.
At the ground of the burnt offering of his only son Isaac, the obedience of Abraham, God calls as stated in Genesis 22:11-13, “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He 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.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.”
What are you withholding from God to disobey His command?
What is it you cannot give to God that is in a position to give back to you beyond expectation?
With understanding, know that all you have, all that you are, and all that you can be is in the hands of God.
The Bible records that every reasonable obedience sacrifice will provoke the blessing of God.
Will you consider the kind of sacrifice that you are rendering unto God?
If your sacrifice is reasonable, God will give unexpected reasonable visitation.
Obedience of Abraham gained the blessing of God.
Genesis 22:16-18 record the blessing of God over Abraham, “…By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed My voice.”  
Obeying the word of God is a sacrifice that will provoke the unexpected blessing of God.
In obedience to God, gain and retain the uncommon blessing of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the heart of obedience to God in all your ways of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Avoid the enticement of the devil so as not to become a victim of the devil. 

Luke 4

See in the Word of God to gain the presence of God.
A failure not to be occupied by the presence of God will have room to be occupied by the enticement of evil.
The weapon of evil is enticement to deceive for deception.
The master of deception that has been around long enough to draw one into the sin of destruction.
Jesus experienced the enticement of the devil, but could not become of the devil.
Luke 4:1-4 documents the failure of the devil in his enticement of Jesus: “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”  
Enticement to sway Jesus failed.
One filled by the Word of God will avoid sin.
Today, be warned and wise to know that if Jesus experienced enticement of the enemy, no man is above the cunning devil with enticement activity to lure man into sin.
King David, a man after the heart of God, could not escape but fell into sin.
Samson was blessed with strength by God, but could not avoid the enticement to become a victim of the devil.
Samson was a miracle child with special instructions from God, but not an excuse to escape the device of enticement. 
The Bible documents in Judges 13:5, “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” 
Samson ended his life blinded because he could not see the instruction of God to deliver him. 
As strong as Samson was, he became a victim of the enticement of the enemy when he failed to obey according to the Word of God. 
The enticement of the enemy brought down Samson from where God had placed him. The Book of Judges 16:5 records, “And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ‘Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’”  
Samson could not avoid the cunning of the enticement of the enemy of man. 
God answers prayer today, pray and ask for the deliverance hand of God in every area of your life, so as not to become a victim of the enticement of the devil.

Prayer for today: Pray that you will not be a victim of evil devices.

FAITH CAPSULE: To fear God will live for God.

Proverbs 15

One who fears God will walk worthily before God.
The character of living for God is walking with God, walking before God, or walking in Him.
Evidently, to live for God will walk with, walk before, and walk in Him.
For example, Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22); Noah walked with God (Genesis 5:9); Abraham walked before God(Genesis 17:1)
Just as the Old Testament records those who walked with and before God, the New Testament commands to walk in Christ Jesus.(Colossians 2:6)
Living for God, walking worthy before God, lines with to walk with, before, or in Him.
Pray continually, to live, to walk worthily before God.
With desire, backed with determination, ask that God in His mercy enable you to begin to walk worthy for His will be activated in you.
Know and walk worthy before God.
To fear God is rooted in hearing the word of God, His command to live for His glory. 
Ecclesiastes 12:13 made it known,“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”
One who fears God will live a life for God.
Is it your determination or desire to fear God all the days He has given you?
Determination can be rooted in the emotion of seeking God.
Peter determined not to deny Jesus, but eventually, Peter denied Jesus.
Luke 22:32 records a prayer that delivered Peter from failing Jesus.
Jesus prayed, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Prayerfully, ask God that every moment you encounter His word shall gain entrance into you to activate His fear in your life.
To fear God is not only by determination but in the giving of God.
In Jeremiah 32:39, God said, “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.”
God is a merciful God.
Ask God in His mercy to give you one heart and one way to fear Him in all the days He has given you.
Know to ask that fear of God will reign and rule your life.
It is God who will enable one to know to fear Him in every area of life.
Ask God to give you the fear not to live life as the wicked in all life He has given you.
Askthat the fear to walk worthy of the glory of His name become your portion.
To fear God is rooted in hearing the word of God.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 made it known,“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”
Ask that the strength of understanding, wisdom, and knowledge, hearing His word, and fearing Him become established in your life.
One who understands the fear of God is bound to find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:5)

Prayer for today:  Pray that the fear to walk worthy before God shall be your portion.

FAITH CAPSULE: To fear God will live for God.

Psalm 34

From the depths of your heart, do you fear God?
Are you one who fears God for real, or fear God by the tips of your mouth?
Do you fear God as it is supposed to be?
Claiming to fear God is not the same as living in the fear of God, acknowledging His awesomeness
Engaging in Christian-rooted activities or answering to titles is not evidence of one who fears God.
A life that does not fear God is a life of waste.
Knowing God is not the same as knowing about God.
How can one who hardly spends time on the word of God know God to fear Him?
The word of God is God; not knowing God in His word is why there is no fear of God.
One can claim to know God and not fear God, to live by His word.
One with the character of telling lies, deceiving, and manipulating others does not fear God.
I heard the testimony of a Bishop who called for fasting in his congregation.
On a day of fasting, the bishop drove some members back to their location after a day of fasting and prayer.
As he passed a pancake restaurant, he unconsciously commented on the good taste of the pancake he had before coming to prayer.
Imagine blatant lies by a Bishop that called for fasting in the congregation?
Telling lies is against the word of God, the character of one with the word near in the mouth but far from the mind.
It is an act of wickedness not to have the fear of God.
Jeremiah identified the wicked.
Jeremiah 12:1-2 records, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.”
Does that sound like you?
Are you carrying the word in the mouth but not in the mind?
The identity of WICKEDNESS is associated with the character of no fear of God.
The majority of believers will bluntly declare that there is no wickedness in them.
All should take time out to search themselves of wickedness before God.
David, a man after God’s own heart, states this: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)
Are you living for God, that is, walking worthily to the glory of God?
Without the fear of God for His awesomeness, one will not walk worthy before God.
All God wants all to do is doable; otherwise, it will not count against not fearing Him, to walk worthy before Him.

Prayer for today:  Pray that the fear to walk worthy before God shall be your portion.

FAITH CAPSULE: Let one who sees know to receive.

Joshua 6

In the Word of God, there is the direction that never fails. 
For example, Joshua needed to behold (see) the word of God to gain boldness and character to win over Jericho. 
Jericho posed as an enemy to deny the Israelites access to the Promised Land. Joshua 6:1-2 records the calling of Joshua to see (to behold) in the Word of God, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.”  
Let it be a way of life, seeing in the word of God, not to become a victim of lack.
Joshua was moved by what he saw in the Word of God with direction against the enemy (the challenge of the Jericho wall).
The Bible records the action of the word,  “The wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all.” (Joshua 6:20-21)  
Joshua listened, and he saw that Jercho fell.
Jacob was running away from his brother (Esau), and he needed boldness and character to succeed in his journey.
God responded to the need of Jacob when He commanded him to behold (see) in His word, stating, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15) 
Always listen to see (behold) in the word of God, to obtain the boldness and character, having trust and hope in God.
To behold (see) in the Word of God, one shall replace fear with faith that is rooted in boldness and character gained in the Word of God.
In your way of life, engage the Word of God by listening with understanding, and know that it gives life to the just ones. Habakkuk 2:4 buttresses, “…the just shall live by his faith.” By the word of God, live life as one with boldness and character. 
God magnifies His word above His name. (Psalm 138:2) 
The Word of God is worthy to deliver; His word is mighty and will preserve one that beholds the word of God.
Listen to the Word of God that carries healing and deliverance.
Psalm 107:20 buttresses, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” 
Do you listen to God?
Listen to see in the word of God, and gain boldness and character that make one a winner for the glory of God.
God is power.
God delivered the Israelites and is still in the business of deliverance and preservation.
Hear to see to claim what is spoken to one, in the word of God.

Prayer for today:  Ask God to enable you to always see in His word.