FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus prevailed by reminding the evil about the word of God. 

2 Samuel 11, Luke 4:1-15

Letting down guard is allowing the enemy to bring war to the front.
How one engages temptations in one direction will determine not to become a victim of temptation.
The devil is the author of the temptation to bring all down and not stand for God.
All should know that the devil is a stubborn animal with no respect for any of his targets. 
Temptation orchestrated by the devil for Jesus is evidence that no one is above experiencing the temptation.
The devil approached the Lord Jesus Christ with temptation. 
Luke 4:1-2, 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.” 
If Jesus could experience such, no one is immune to the war of temptation. 
How are you upholding your guard against the advance of temptation from the enemy?
Temptation is not the sin, but it is the driver of sin and sinning against the word of God.
It is how you uphold your guard that will determine how you hold against the move of the enemy. 
Jesus did not let down His guard when the enemy located Him with temptation. 
One that puts up guard has the word of God in the heart with a guard to overcome temptation.
Jesus prevailed by reminding the evil about the word of God. 
Jesus was at the right place, at the right time, for the evil one failed. 
All for God are with the mark pointing that the enemy cannot tolerate.
Avoidance of careless standing will call for an evil plan.
Despite all the victories of King David, he was not able to fight a war of success when adultery brought war to David via the lane of temptation. 
One of the major causes of the loss of King David records, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 11:1) 
King David was at the right place at the wrong time. 
As a prime target of the enemy, there is no room for consuming life mistakes. 
A believer should know no that being found out at the wrong place is not acceptable.
Consistently, a believer should avoid taking a position in the wrong place at the right time.
Life-terminating testimony will come, but the word of God can deliver. 
Take to the advice of the apostle Paul, who states, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11) 

Prayer for today: Ask for deliverance against every plan of the evil one against your life

FAITH CAPSULE: Desire for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to increase in your life.

Proverbs 4

God delivers His own when called on, and He acknowledges.
The children of Israel, in time of their challenge, cried out to God. 
God looked upon them.
Exodus 2:25, “And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them…”
In this challenging time, one that calls on Him, that looks upon Him shall experience the move of God, answering His people.
Instability is the core of the challenges of today.
However, call upon God to experience stability, not to be a victim of the challenges.
Isaiah 33:6 says, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.”
God treasures it when living by the fear of God is the character of one with wisdom and knowledge.
It is wisdom, understanding, and knowledge that are not separated, being possessed, that will enable one not to live unstable in the challenges of instability.
Are you one with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that is rooted in the word of God?
Three things not to stop asking from God are wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
WISDOM is the instruction of God. 
1 Corinthians 1:30 records wisdom, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God…”
UNDERSTANDING is giving attention that is listening to the word of God.
KNOWLEDGE is the application of wisdom. 
Knowledge is having wisdom, then with an understanding of having the edge in life endeavors. 
Are you a believer in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge not to perish, a life of waste?
Hosea 4:6 clearly states, “My people perish because they lack knowledge.”
Wisdom and understanding are the evidence of knowledge.
Pages of the Bible emphasize wisdom and understanding as the key to having a knowing edge.
For example, Proverbs 4 records the importance of wisdom and understanding.
PROVERBS 4:1 “Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding”
PROVERBS 4:5, “Get wisdom! Get understanding!”
PROVERBS 4:7, ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
The wisdom of God is in place for one who will give to gain the understanding for the application of knowledge. 
However, many do not understand the word (wisdom) of God.
A lack of understanding is a listening disability.
Jesus points it out in John 8:43 when He asked and answered rhetorically, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.”
Understanding is crucial to living as a believer, not just knowing about believers.
In this challenging world, one who does not have the wisdom (word) of God and does not have the understanding to navigate knowing God is able in all areas of life is bound to perish.
John 8:45 records the word of Jesus, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.”
All should consciously press for growing as a believer to gain wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, not to perish, a life of waste.

 Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled to gain wisdom and understanding, knowing.

FAITH CAPSULE: Give yourself to the task, not just your title.

Mark 5

Mark 5:22-23 records, “…Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and appealed to Him earnestly, saying, ‘My daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.’”  
A synagogue is a Jewish place of worship. 
Synagogue services are of reciting the Shema (Shema is the confession of faith in Judaism) 
Praying, scripture readings from the Old Testament, giving sermons, and benediction are the patterns of synagogue worship. 
Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, put aside his religious title that could have built an empty pride in him. 
The title of Jairus did not measure to the task at hand as he went to meet with the only King of kings and the Lord of lords. 
Is there a religious title between you and seeing where miracles are? Jairus needed to have his daughter delivered from the point of death when he dismissed his title, going for Jesus to give him attention. 
In the attempt of Jairus to get the attention of Jesus for his breakthrough miracle, he engaged in three things: 
First, he put aside his religious burden and met Jesus at the right location, the crossing point. 
Your crossing point could be on the ground of fellowship. 
Often, many have missed their crossing point because of the title.
To many, the title takes a position of pride.
Jairus could not allow his title to deny his miracle but approached Jesus for his desire. 
How are you responding to altar calls where there is? 
It does not matter how often you have stepped out in the past, answering the calling to give yourself to God, but know to persist and insist on your expectations from God. 
Secondly, Jairus saw Jesus, and he took a step of faith. 
Jairus’ stepping out caused him to have direct contact with Jesus. 
Jesus knows all things, but the need of Jarius was not strange to Jesus. His stepping out and seeing Jesus was a renunciation of not being a part of the multitude to becoming one who was on purpose and not flowing with the crowd. 
Let Jesus see you in your need and not just in the crowd. 
Finally, Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus, meaning He laid it all unto Jesus. Imagine Jairus begging earnestly for the life of his daughter by saying, “Here I am, a poor religious, have mercy on my dying daughter.” 
While begging at the feet of the Master, he made his request without paying attention to his title and the multitude. 
Watch out, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs16:18) 

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from every spirit of pride.

FAITH CXAPSULE: Give yourself entirety to meditation. It works to the glory of God.

Joshua 1:1-9, Numbers 32

Caleb and Joshua entirely gave to the word of God.
Begin to ask God for the grace to wholly follow Him. 
To wholly follow Him will enable one to get to the expected end of the life journey. 
The word states about following the Lord God wholly, “Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’”(Numbers32:11-12) 
Following God entirely (wholly) demonstrates the spirit of faith that Caleb and Joshua did. 
Does it occur to you to examine if you are wholly following God?
2Timothy 3:16 records, “All Scripture is given, by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” 
The word of God that was profitable to the men of God in the Bible days shall be so to anyone who chooses to get into the word of God continuously. 
After Moses, God commanded Joshua with the need to engage the word continuously by meditating. 
He said to Joshua in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written, in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” 
He pointed out to Joshua that meditating on the word was the way for Joshua to be successful in the assignment of the calling over his life. 
With continuous meditation, word will sink into one that meditates, and the spirit of faith shall become of such. 
With the spirit of faith, following the Lord God entirely (wholly) shall be without struggle.
Also, Paul the apostle knew that his days were drawing to an end when he wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:15, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” 
Paul, with command about meditation, testifies to the importance of meditation. 
Meditation that works requires consistency, spending day and night, and entirely (wholly) giving oneself to follow God. 
Meditation is labor, and labor is a sacrifice. 
A believer who is constantly and consistently meditating on the word of God cannot become carelessly eliminated from the promise that is in the journey of life. 
Meditation is not memorization, and when it becomes consistent, there will always be the grace to observe to do according to what the word says. 
Give yourself entirety to meditation. 
It works to the glory of God. 

Prayer for today: Ask to live entirely (wholly) following God by His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not take to the way that seemed right but to the way of God.

Judges 7

Jerubbaal (Gideon) was set for war against the Midianites when God spoke to him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7:1-3) 
In the physical, there is a need for numeric strength to emerge victorious in battle. 
However, the instruction of God to Jerubbaal was to reduce the number. Jerubbaal harkened to instruction to reduce from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand.  
The God of battle, who does not share his glory with anyone, called on Jerubbaal after he had reduced the numbers. Judges 7:4 records, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…”  
Imagine Jerubbaal communicating with friends about how God has instructed him to reduce the number. Without a doubt, friends would have wondered and even considered Jerubbaal as foolish, spiritually insane, overzealous, and unrealistic. 
Jerubbaal led the people to the water as directed by God to have the number reduced again. At the water, God spoke again, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.” (Judges 7: 5-6). 
In going against the Midianites, one considers assigning men who lapped from water over ones who got on their knees to drink water would have been considered foolish. 
At all times, regardless of how foolish it sounds, the preference of God should always prevail over what one considers the best reference. 
Eventually, the number that went to the battle against the Midianites went down to three hundred men from thirty-two thousand.
It is foolishness by human reasoning to reduce numeric strength. 
It is suicidal to go to war after ending up with such a small number. 
Thirty thousand seems to be the right way and not the foolish way. Always remember the word of Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” 
Jerubbaal did not take the way that seemed right but to the way of God.
With no complaint nor doubt, Jerubaand went with three hundred. 
Are you fighting a battle yet looking for human wisdom to sustain you? 
It does not matter how tough the challenge presents itself, but to focus on God is enough to assure victory.

Prayer for today: Ask that living by the word of God shall become established in your life.