FAITH CAPSULE: Are you a Christian soldier or a worldly soldier?

2 Timothy 2:1-13

 Are you a Christian soldier by mouth or by the act? 
A Christian soldier need not be introduced as a soldier because his warlike disposition will always point him out as one operating as a sold-out soul for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
What kind of a soldier are you? 
Are you a soldier who will always need a constant introduction as a soldier? 
A soldier should contend or serves in any cause as a soldier of the Lord. With steadfastness, soldiers should persist in their cause and persevere to deliver answers as expected.
An eligible and qualified soldier for Christ has to be a sold-out soul for the cause of the cross that Jesus carried to Calvary.
Paul, the apostle, admonished Timothy by using an illustration of a soldier in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 
Faithfulness illustrates that a soldier (follower of Christ) must endure hardship. 
Unfortunately, Christian soldiers today do not want to endure hardship but will like to enjoy worldly pleasures or live lives of convenience and not commitment. 
Are you an acclaimed Christian with no iota of desire to live life to experience the endured life of Christ?
Endurance can be painful and can generate unwanted suffering.
Enduring hardship qualifies a Christian soldier as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
Every Christian soldier must know to experience how to endure; Christian soldiers cannot escape hardship in this world of wickedness. 
The Christian soldiers without enduring challenges in this world are soldiers that often entangle themselves with the affairs of this life. 
It is evident in the word of Paul that no soldier engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life and answers to the cause of Christian soldiers.
In the book of Peter 2:11, the word warned against fleshly lusts: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”  
Fleshly lust will derail a soldier for Christ.
With lust, it is not possible to answer as a sold-out soul for the assignment of Christ. 
Undoubtedly, fleshly lust is a principal target that Christian soldiers should not take for granted because it launches its attack regularly. 
Are you walking not become lust?
Living lust will present great or small temptation that does not spare grave for fleshly lust ones. It is so deadly that it only goes after its target, the soul of every Christian soldier.
As a soldier of Christ, you shall not become captured by the enemy of all, the evil one.
Do not become a Christian soldier by mouth but answer as a sold-out soul for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to live life for Him.

FAITH CAPSULE:  The word of God is worthy to live life by it.

2 Samuel 22

Word of God is worthy and profitable to trust and hope in it for one with the heart for God.
2 Samuel 22:31 records the character of the word of God, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” 
Three things about the word of God:
First is the way of God. 
Moses confirmed the trust of God in his question with the answer he received from God. 
Moses asked God, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:13-14) The way of God is perfect, and one that gives to shall gain the rest of God.
Secondly, the word of God is proven.
The creation of heaven and earth by the word of God is proven. One that has a place in the word of God shall not fail. The bible made us know that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) The word of God is proven to give comfort in a time of affliction. Psalm 119:50 testifies, “This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.” 
God magnifies His word above all His name. (Psalm 138:2)
Thirdly, God is a shield to all who trust in Him. 
Pages of the Bible testify that God is a shield giving deliverance and preservation.
For example, God declared to be a shield for Abraham not to be afraid in Genesis 15:1, “…Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 
God was the shield in the old days, and He is still the shield beyond times to come.
Are you distracted from trusting God?  
Do not become distracted, but trust and hope in God. 
With trusting God, the peace of God reigns. 
Meditating the truth of God is not possible to doubt the word of God.
When you hear from God, there will be no fear but peace. 
Where the whole world can say no, one should know to hear yes by the word of God. 
The existence of doubt is the evidence of not having heard from God.
Take to the word of Isaiah 26:3-4, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind stayed on You because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” 
The word of God is profitable to be trusted.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to rest in His worthy word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be mindful of God, not be selfish but know God to fear Him.

Psalm 8

One that is selfish is lacking consideration for others, concerned chiefly with self-gain. 
Lack of satisfaction is the character of selfishness that is not mindful of others.
One that is selfish will hardly listen.
One that is selfish avoids responsibility to make self-available for others.
Are you an acclaimed believer, telling lies, deceiving to manipulate your world, the character of selfishness? 
One that is selfish does not have consideration for the time for others.
Think of this: How can one that is not mindful of others be mindful of God?
Selfishness is not mindful of God. 
David asked God: “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4)
Does the question of David before God speak to you?
Are you mindful of God?
In the world today, man is full of himself while God is empty in man. 
The emptiness of God in man is the evidence of not living by the word of God, the lack of fear of God. 
Today, the majority no longer fear God with the heart but with the mouth.
The lack of fear of God is evidence of misplacement of the word (command, law of God), and it is the automatic route into the path of eternal damnation.
Without any compromise, the will of God for all is to fear God.
Selfish minded is not mindful of the truth that all creation exists for the glory of God, not for self or anyone. Revelations 4:11 states, “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.” 
Without any compromise, the will of God for man is to fear God. 
No one is born to this world with the knowledge to fear God.
The knowledge to fear God comes from learning in the word of God. 
To live a life with the fear of God is the only way to be able to be humble and become obedient to God continually.
The Law of God will cause tenderness of heart. 
With a tender heart, there is a place for humility. Without humility, obedience is not possible. 
Philippians 2:8 records that Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 
The will of God is for man to fear Him. 
Do you fear God indeed and in truth? 
Are you lost from the word of God, not known to be satisfied before God, not selfish? 
Be mindful of God, not be selfish but know God to fear Him.
Deuteronomy 24:29 identifies what it takes to find God, “…seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul seek Him and you will found Him” 
Do not be deceived but fear God from the depth of your heart.

Prayer for today: Ask that God shall occupy you.

FAITH CAPSULE: A wrong opening is rooted in disobedience to God. 

Daniel 16      

Disobedient to the word of God is an opening door for the enemy.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to the mother of Samson with word of instructions, “…Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now, therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Daniel 13:3-5) 
Evidently, as a Nazarite, Samson was not supposed to cut off his hair.
The hair of Samson is the source of the power of God in his life. 
Samson was set apart from birth for his divinely appointed mission, but his disability to full compliance with instructions is evidence of disobedience. 
Samson was to be a Nazarite but violated the word of instruction for his hair.
Samson liked what God disliked when he revealed the secret of God in his life to Delilah.
Judges 16:4 -6 records, “…he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 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 everyone of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” 
The infatuation of Samson for Delilah led him to his disobedience. 
What is leading you to disobey the word (command) of God? 
Delilah successfully engaged the Philistines to shave Samson.
Delilah called on Samson, “…So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.” (Judges 16:20-21)
Samson failed before God. 
Samson demonstrates what it means to depart from God due to disobedience to the word of God.
There are so many back doors for the enemy to come into the life of one.
A wrong opening is rooted in disobedience to God, and sin will take residence in the life of one that opens their heart wrongly.
With sin, one will become vulnerable to the enemy, the advantage for the evil. Proverbs 13:21 points out, “Evil pursues sinners…” 
To be seeking God with diligence should not be a liberty to open the self to evil.
All should have the desire to engage in instruction in the word of God, which is evidence of hating knowledge.

Prayer for today: Pray against wrong opening up for the enemy.

FAITH CAPSULE: A sleeping believer is not watching for the arrival of Jesus.

Matthew 25:1-13, Luke 22:39-46

To be awake is watching.
One sleeping at the time of watching will miss and not gain.
Believe it, Jesus will soon return. The ten virgins went to sleep and missed their purpose in time.
Matthew 25:1-5 states, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”  
The ten virgins went with the right intention but lacked the attention to meet the bridegroom. 
The ten virgins knew about the time to go and meet with the bridegroom but not be awake. 
They all slept off and slumbered. 
The majority of acclaimed believers do have the intention to run and finish the race but lack attention that will deny getting to the expected end. 
All of the ten virgins fell asleep in their waiting. 
They did not just sleep, but they slept and slumbered because the bridegroom was delayed. 
Five virgins could afford to sleep because they had extra oil, while the other five did not carry extra oil.
Without carrying extra oil demonstrate foolishness. 
Are you staying awake in watching? 
The time and season demand believers to know and become awake, watching not to miss out when the bridegroom arrive. 
As an acclaimed believer, how are you watching? 
It is impossible to sleep-watch. 
Is your sleeping time overriding your time to watch? 
As a disciple of the Lord, are you watching in prayer or sleeping in sorrow?
To sleep in the place of watching and praying is spiritually asleep.
To be spiritually asleep in a challenging time is positioning self for destruction. 
Also, when the trumpet sound, sleeping will miss just like the oil-less five virgins, five that went without extra oil.
Take the parable of the ten virgins to heart today. 
All went to attain, but they lacked the attention to prevailing. 
The bridegroom came without any warning because the sign of the season was all they needed to inform or warn them of His coming.
They all slept and slumbered, and nothing woke them up but the noise of the arrival of the bridegroom.
Without any doubt, it is clear that the church today is sleeping. 
Are you a sleeping church with no extra oil? 
The noise of the church or the noise in the church will not be able to deliver oil-less believers when the bridegroom arrives unexpectedly. 
Prepare, expects the coming of Jesus as the bridegroom.
Be awake and alive in the spirit!

Prayer for today: Ask not to be a victim of sleeping when there is a need to be awake.