Category Archives: Devotions

FAULTY FOUNDATION?

FAITH CAPSULE: Consider the story of Jephthah.

Judges 11

In life, knowingly or unknowingly, an ugly and painful faulty foundation is possible to have a place in the life of one.
God is the only unchanging changer that will reverse any irreversible situation from ugly to beautiful.
The desire to experience from an ugly faulty foundation to a good and beautiful foundation by God shall be the portion of such.
The stretch out, the hand of God, is always in place to turn around a faulty foundation that man does not plan or demand as a way of life. 
What about your life? 
Are you experiencing a negative situation that is rooted in your faulty foundation?
Consider the story of Jephthah:
In the story of Jephthah, the Gileadite, he gained the title: A mighty man of valor despite the truth that he was a non-entity, one that was a son of a harlot.
As a son of a harlot, he got chased out of his father’s house. 
The faulty foundation of Jephthah (as a son of a harlot) was not his plan in his life. 
The faulty foundation of Jephthah was outside of his control; Jephthah was paying for what he did not bargain in life. 
Are you experiencing any analogous situation like that of Jephthah? 
The painful situation of Jephthah demanded a divine intervention to turn around his story. 
Without a doubt, his situation called for redemption. 
With God is redemption for Jephthah. 
In your situation, know and wait on God to experience how the Lord will change your story. 
God is the only God who waits to act for those who wait on Him. (Isaiah 64:4)
At the appointed time of God to turn the story of Jephthah for good, the Israelites needed a commander to confront enemies. 
The elders of Gilead had to go and seek Jephthah for help. Judges 11:6 record, “Then they said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our commander that we may fight against the people of Ammon.’”
The story of Jephthah is the testimony of God that redeems where there is evidence of condemned.
By the doing of God, Jephthah, son of a harlot, became the needy one as a commander for his people.
Jephthah responded to the calling by his people in Judges 11:7, “So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 
The same God that set Jephthah to come from being rejected because of a faulty foundation, to rise for the glory of God shall not look away from you.
God, in His deliverance, His redemption plan, shall speedily locate you for good.
Jephthah accepted the assignment for his people and delivered victory for the children of Israel. 
Jephthah did not just end up as a commander, but he became the head for his people.
God that changed the story of Jephthah for good shall also change yours for good. 

Prayer for today: Ask that any faulty foundation in your life shall experience the visitation of God. 

WAIT OR LOOK

FAITH CAPSULE: Who do you wait or look up to in times of challenge?

John 11:1-44

The word of God does not fail if all will live life by His word.
Challenges shall always succumb to the one with engagement to the word of God.
Isaiah 40:31 encourages, “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.”
Who do you wait or look up to in times of challenge?
Waiting on God is looking up to God with attention to experience His divine intervention.  
Waiting or looking up to God is seeking God to look down with response. Psalm 14:2 testifies, “The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.” Wait, look up to God that response with unfailing attention. 
Waiting and looking up to God is an action, a demonstration of faith that pleases God and will always act towards action before Him.
Isaiah 64:4 records how God responses to one that wait on Him, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”
Jesus demonstrated what it is like to wait or look up to God for divine attention of God in the place of challenge, the situation of impossibility.
Lazarus was dead before the arrival of Jesus at his cave.
Stone was rolled, against Lazarus, the confirmation of his death.
For Lazarus, he was dead.
Above all, there was no medical practitioner recorded to be on the ground for Lazarus. 
Jesus, the Commanding commander, gave a command for the stone to be removed. 
The Bible records: “So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” (John 11:41-44) 
Among the actions of Jesus for Lazarus to come back to life was that Jesus looked up for divine intervention.
Jesus set up an example for all to know and always look up whenever all hope is lost. 
Also, Jesus looked up and gave thanks. 
Jesus did not wait or look to man; He did not wait or look up to complain, but He looked up to give thanks for the expectation that was yet at hand. In your challenging situation, who are you waiting for or looking to gain your deliverance?
Are you a true believer or an unbelieving believer? 
A true believer should not wait or look outside of God. 
From today, get to know, to expect manifestation from the Almighty God; Omnipotent and Omnipresent God.

Prayer for today: Ask that God shall visit you with His salvation.

CONFUSION?

FAITH CAPSULE: Confusion is not of God, belongs to disobeying God.

1 Kings 3 

Confusion is not of God but the evidence of the lack of understanding. 
In life, gain the understanding to make the right choice by doing according to the word of God.
Today, know to avoid confusion, give self to the direction of God that is the right choice to experience the deliverance and preservation from God.
Proverbs 2:11 admonishes, “Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you.”
Are you making the right choice before making your move?
God instructed all for the earth to fill, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) 
Instead, giving to the word of God to multiply and fill, the choice to build a unified culture, to construct a tower the symbol and seal of common identity took place.
God wanted them to fill the earth, but they wanted to build a city for themselves. (Genesis 11:4) 
The move to Shinar was a turn away from the direction of God, a direct opposition to multiply and fill the earth. 
Building Babel was a wrong choice against the direction of God not taking a place to be preserved. 
The people then were lack of understanding as confusion took charge over their life activities. 
Man’s choice against God’s direction is always a wicked execution that never escapes God’s attention. For the people at the construction of Babel, God visited their disobedient to scatter them and confuse their language. (Genesis 11:8)
Are you applying discretion for your preservation and exercising understanding to keep you?
Having the understanding to avoid confusion is crucial.
King Solomon demonstrated the importance to have understanding, not becoming a victim of confusion.
The Bible documents about Solomon:
After Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord, the Lord appeared to him. 1 Kings 3:5 records, “At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”  Solomon could think of nothing better but responded to God, “… give to Your servant an understanding heart…” (1 Kings 3:9) 
The request for understanding by Solomon pleases God. 1 Kings 3:10, “The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.” 
God added to Solomon wisdom for understanding. 
Wisdom compliments understanding, the combination of both shall give a knowing edge over confronting challenges of the world.
Proverbs 4:7 admonishes, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore, get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
The word of God is direction, the way that will keep one in the journey of life. 
Today, make the choice that preserves one; gain an understanding that will keep living life for the glory of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable making the right choice and applying understanding from God.

LIVE LIFE FOR GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: Have the desire for the power of God over your life.

1 Peter 5

Power belongs to God alone.
Psalm 66:3 testifies, “…How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.” 
Know that power belongs to God, the perfect creator. The devil is the adversary of man and walks around.
God sits on His throne to oversee all the affairs on earth. 
With God, the enemy cannot be more powerful.
The only thing that God cannot do is that: GOD CANNOT FAIL.
Live life by the word of God to gain and retain His presence over your life.
Ask to live life for God.
The book of 2 Chronicles 16:9 encourages all, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
Living life by the word of God is a privilege to experience the power of God. 
Power God to answer in the life of one that lives life by His word is not to be abused.
The book of 1 Peter 5:8 warns, “Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
God shall not look away from those with focus on Him. 
Do you fear God enough to continually focus and acknowledge Him for the protection of His power over your life? 
Having a loyal heart knows to rely on God. 
Fear God to find Him.
For Satan, it is business as usual to be looking for someone to devour. Since the days of the Bible, Satan has been going to and fro his evil doing.
Today he is still looking for whom to devour, and tomorrow he will continue to look for one to do his evil, but the power of God is able to deliver and preserve.
The power of God is in place to deliver and preserve if one will keep the mind with diligence not to become a victim of the devil. 
Proverbs 4:23 warns, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
Devil was in business to destroy. He gained entrance into the mind of Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus.
John 13:2 testifies to the careless mind of Judas Iscariot in the hand of the devil, “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.”
Indeed, when it was time for Satan to work through Judas, it was in a convenient way to walk through the mind/heart of Judas Iscariot.
Judas gave Jesus up with a kiss. 
How are you keeping your heart?
It does not matter who you are or what you do, but live life for God to deny Satan from having a place in your heart to devour you. 
Live life for God, and not make yourself available for the devourer. 

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to become a victim of the devil.

LIFE JOURNEY

FAITH CAPSULE: The journey in life will lead to everlasting or damnation.

Jeremiah 12

Which way are you taking?
Do you know God, or do you know about Him?
Scriptural verses documents the character of God:
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:2)
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” (Psalm 145:13)
“How great are His signs, and how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:3) 
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Why not meditate on the verses above and take to the way of God?
There is a way of everlasting, and there is a way of eternal damnation. 
However, no one can take to both ways at the same time. 
Both ways are engageable depending on your choice that you live life.
Which one of the two ways is your choice in your journey of life? 
The way everlasting is to God just as the way to eternal damnation is to the devil.
All the above scriptural verses testify where God is. 
The place of God is in place for obedient ones that live life for God.
Today, make the right choice. 
Engage the way of everlasting, disengage from the eternal damnation.
Living life as a wicked one is a choice that leads to eternal damnation.
Wickedness operates from the heart and does not have a place for the right before God.
Jeremiah testifies, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) 
The wicked one is taking a journey on eternal damnation.
Are you keeping your heart to avoid missing everlasting? 
Ending up in eternal damnation is not the right choice.
The word of God warns, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
Eternal damnation is a wrong choice, a “no-go” place. 
The psalmist strives not to be on the wrong choice of eternal damnation but spoke, “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)
What is the identity of the wicked one?
Jeremiah 12:1-2 identifies the character of the wicked one, “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.”
Take to the way of everlasting, strive to avoid the eternal damnation. 

Prayer for today: Ask for mercy to gain and to retain in the route of everlasting.