FAITH CAPSULE: Focus on God for the wisdom to fight your battle.

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 claims 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 thousands of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7:1-3) 
In the physical, there is a need to gain strength in numbers to emerge victorious in battle. 
However, the instruction of God to Jerubbaal was to reduce the number of his army. 
Jerubbaal gave himself to the instruction of God, and the number was reduced to more than half, from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand.  
God is a battle warrior and does not share His glory with anyone. 
He called on Jerubbaal after he had cut down the number of his army and said: “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…” (Judges 7:4) 
Imagine Jerubbaal communicating with friends about how God has been reducing the number. Without a doubt, friends would have wondered and even considered Jerubbaal 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 that lapped from water over ones that got on their knees to drink water would have been considered foolish. 
No matter how foolish the direction of God sounds, His preference should always prevail over the best reference of this world.
The number against the Midianites was three hundred men from thirty-two thousand; this is foolishness by human reasoning. 
To man, 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 path outside the direction of God but obeyed God without complaint or doubt.
Jerubbaal went with three hundred. 
Are you fighting a battle yet looking for human wisdom to sustain you? 
It does not matter how tough the challenges present, but focusing on God is enough to be victorious.

Prayer for today: Ask to live life in obedience to the direction of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Without a doubt, seeking God is to find Him.

Deuteronomy 4

There is a standard of God to seek and find God but not as the world seeks Him.
One seeking God as he pleases self will not please God and not find God.
Hebrews 11:6 testifies, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
How are you seeking God to find Him?
There is a request standard of God to find God.
Deuteronomy 4:29 states seeking God diligently: “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.”
The purpose of seeking God is to find God, evidence of wanting to please God, living life for God (to exist for Him), and experiencing the manifestation of expectation.
When you seek God, put all aside to seek Him diligently to find Him first, and will provoke Him to give you all things beyond your expectation.
Matthew 6:33 encourages all, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Seeking God with diligence is the key to FINDING God, and praying with understanding to gain knowledge.
Praying with understanding is watching and praying. (Jesus admonishes about watching and praying)
Psalm 47:7 informs all to praise with understanding, evidence of seeking God with understanding to find Him. 
WITH PRAYER, to find God without watching is not complete to experience the manifestation of God.
WATCH AND PRAY.
WATCHING AGAINST DOING WRONG IN THE PLACE TO DO RIGHT.
WATCHING AGAINST DOING WRONG IN THE PLACE TO DO RIGHT is the case of the untimely death of Uzzah.
2 Samuel 6:6-7 record the case of Uzzah: “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and he died there by the ark of God.” 
WATCHING IS WAITING ON GOD IN EVERY DECISION-MAKING.
WATCHING IS WAITING ON GOD IN EVERY DECISION, as David did by walking and not running in the place to walk.
Isaiah 40:31 records, “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
David testifies, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
Watching and Praying is to find God. 
Seeking God with diligence is the character of watching and praying, the evidence of one with wisdom and knowledge not to become a victim of the wicked world.
Isaiah 33:6 admonishes, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.” 

Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled, seeking God diligently.

FAITH CAPSULE: The direction shall give focus to the life journey shall arrive at the expected end.

Genesis 11:27-32, 12:1-9

Living life is like a life journey.
Receiving direction for every life journey is crucial to arrive at the expected end of the life journey. 
Receiving direction without focus is set to become a victim of distraction, delay, derailment, discouragement, or encountering untimely termination of life journey. 
In reality, the life of the journey must cooperate with focus. 
Without a doubt, a focus will give a clear vision of the life journey to arrive at an expected end. 
Having direction is loaded with potential. 
A failure not to arrive at the end of a journey is the lack of spiritual connectivity to drive in the journey.
Learning in the written word of God is the mark, not to become a failure.
The documentation of Terah is for all to learn not to become a victim of failure to arrive at the expected journey of life. 
Genesis 11:31-32 recorded, “And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.”
Terah, the father of Abraham, left for Canaan land ever before God called Abraham to journey to Canaan land. 
It was ambition for Terah to move to Canaan. 
Ambition can be the reason, while vision is the plan of God. 
Ambition is also determination, but determination without spiritual connectivity is always a reason for failure in life. 
Peter was an example with determination not to deny Jesus three times, but he denied Jesus three times. 
The prayer of Jesus delivered Peter from his failure determination statement. 
The prayer of Jesus was the spiritual connectivity for Peter not to fail.
When Terah engaged in his journey to Canaan, there was no record of his plan to dwell in Haran but dwell in Haran and not get to Canaan.
It is questioning why Terah started his journey to Canaan and ended up in Haran. 
Could it have been that the comfort in Haran got Terah stagnated to end his journey? 
Have you engaged in any journey or given up assignments uncompleted? The ambition Terah with distraction is evidence of his lack of focus.
Terah lived for two hundred and fifty years. 
With so many years on his side, he could not get through at expected life journey. 
Gain and retain focus to maintain expectations for arrival at the life journey of life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to your expected end in the life journey.

FAITH CAPSULE: Counting on God will keep one from courting on magic device agents!

Isaiah 46

Gain understanding in the word of God to know that truly a miracle is not magic.
One expecting manifestation should give self with the expectation to the miracle of God instead of magic. 
The miracle is simply a wonder, and God alone is the wonder-working God. 
Miracles are of God, miracles last forever, and it runs deep. 
Just as worship is in opposition to worrying, so is a miracle to magic. 
The miracle belongs to God, while magic belongs to the deceiver of all. 
Magic is a device of the enemy. 
Magic glitters, and it will only last for a moment. 
Seeking magic for the manifestation of expectation is seeking a substitute for God. 
It is wrong! It is wrong when likening God to another god. 
Isaiah 40:18 warns, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?”  
God for today, just like in the past, seeking manifestation concerning expectation in the place of magic will provoke the judgment of God.
Do not substitute the miracle of God for magic. 
Anyone that does not liken God to any other god will count on God to gain and retain His presence.
Counting on God will keep one from courting other means that will always lead to self-disappointment and discouragement. 
God is God that is incomparable to any other god.
Isaiah 46:5 said, “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike?”
Counting and courting God is the only avenue not to be a victim of magic devices in this wicked world.
Counting and courting on God is evidence of getting close to God to experience His miracle.
Disallow the magic and devices of the devil, and be close to God. 
Magic will fail!
Physically or spiritually, no matter how the result of magic glitters, waiting on the miracle hand of the Almighty God is the only way of receiving from God. 
Also, one that gives self to God will receive from God.
Pharaoh was counting and courting magic to deny Israelites from the request of God through Moses to serve God. 
Exodus 7:10-11 records, “So Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” 
The magic worked for the magicians of Pharaoh but could not match against God.  
Any power demonstration outside of the name of God is a failure.
Allow the manifestation of a miracle by following through the way of God and not a way that seems right. 
The way out of bondage is a miracle of God, not magic. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to keep you from the magical snares of this wicked world.

FAITH CAPSULE: Listening to gain understanding makes one become learned.

Proverbs 13

Limitation of the relationship with God is the evidence of lack or limitation of learning from the word of God. 
Engage the word of God, listen, and understand by learning from the word of God.
Romans 15:4 informs, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
What is it to learn in the word of God? 
Learning the word of God is to gain understanding and knowledge for instruction and experience, not to become a victim of a wicked world. However, the majority are too busy and mindful of the world instead of learning in the word of God. 
With no or limited learning gives way to repeating mistakes to become victims of evil agenda. 
For example, in the book of Judges, Israelites were distanced from God by giving to repeated sins. 
A consequence of the pain of their sin was prompting repentance for forgiveness. 
Without their learning for understanding and knowledge, returning to sin was the pattern of the Israelites. 
Today, many are giving themselves to the pattern of not learning to avoid distance from God but living in repeated sin before God.
Word of God wants us all to learn from Christ as stated, “But you have not so learned Christ.” 
Ephesians 4:17-24 documents the reason to learn:
“ This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Hearing and hearing (not hearing every once in a while) is the way of listening. 
It is in hearing that man will gain and learn to fear God all the days of life. Deuteronomy 4:10 speaks to all then and now, “…Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’”
Today, not hearing the word of God is not learning to fear God. 
Parents are too busy to learn from the word of God and not available to teach children.
The government also aids parents by taking out the word of God from school to teach children about the fear of God. 
To despise the word of God is the route to destruction. (Proverbs 13:13)

Prayer for today: Ask for a quickening mind to learn the word of God.