Category Archives: Devotions

DO YOU KNOW?

FAITH CAPSULE: Get to know that obedience and thanks offering before God will provoke a miracle. 

John 11:17-57

With obedience and thanksgiving to God, the miracle of lack shall convert to abundance.
At the feeding of 5,000, Jesus asked His disciples not to let the people go away with an empty stomach. 
In a desert with no provision to meet the need of the people, “Jesus asked Philip, where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” (John 6:5)
His disciples informed Him that a lad is with five barley loaves and two small fish, which was not enough to feed the population in the desert.
Just like disciples, are you speculating meeting your needs? 
Are you at a juncture of life experiencing a representative of desert life in your life?
This day, gain understanding and knowledge in the word of God that there is always possibility out of impossibility. 
Jesus responded to the answer of doubt to the lack of bread for the people at the desert in John 6:10-11, “Then Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So, the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.” 
For the miracle of provision of abundance in the desert, the people obeyed the command of Jesus for them to sit down. 
Also, Jesus gave thanks to the Lord for the provision (five barley and two small fish) for thousands of people to be fed. 
The people obeyed, and thanks offered to God provoked the miracle of abundance for the population. 
The combination of obedience and thanksgiving brought Lazarus out of the grave of life. 
John 11:41-44 documents a demonstration of obedience to the command in the word of Jesus and thanksgiving before God.
The people responded to the command to take the stone away from the tomb of dead Lazarus. 
In addition to the moving stone in obedience, Jesus lifted His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
At the tomb of Lazarus, the obedience of the people and the thanks offering replaced death with life.
Giving obedience to the word of God and giving thanks will always provoke provision and restoration, the evidence of undeniable miracle in the face of life challenges.
Give yourself to obeying the word of God and offering thanks for the miracle of God.

Prayer for today: Ask to be living a life of obedience and thanks offering to God.

LEARN

FAITH CAPSULE: Besides God, who are you boasting?

1 Samuel 17

Boasting of God can be claiming or flourishing in the name of God.
Boasting of God is the character of a believer that knows God, not just knows about God.
One boasting God does have faith to act with boldness and character as if the only one that belongs to God.
It is wise to let your strength be rooted in boasting God.
With understanding and knowledge, boasting of or about God is glorifying God.
The documentation of David testifies his strength is in his boasting of God by his word of actions.
David personalizes God as if he is the only one that God belongs to him alone. 
He repeatedly speaks as if he is the only one that owns and belongs to God.
The book of Psalms testifies to the words of David that personalize God as the father to him alone:
Psalm 4:1, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 13:3, “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God…” (David personalizes God to him alone, the evidence of his boasting of God.)
Psalm 86:1, “Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy.”
The boasting of God by David is glaring in his prayer, conversation to remind God continually.
The boasting of God is the faith of calling God by His word that does not return to Him void.
Isaiah 43:26 records the word of God, “Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.” David, with knowledge and understanding of the mind of God, personalizes God as His father, with the boast, to ride on the word of God to gain the undeniable attention of God.
Besides God, who are you boasting?
Are you boasting about your strength?
Knowing to boast of God is rooted in understanding that God is mindful of the created one that has a place for Him in the heart, by the ways of living life.
David knows the mind of God to boast of God for all his God-given life, and God knows the mind of David.
Once, God testifies of David as a man after His own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14)
David knows the mind of God when he approached God to ask in Psalm 8:4, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” 
The documentation through the Bile is for learning and understanding for one that will give self to the word of God, having the patience and comfort of the documentation.
Grow out of knowing about God, get to know God, be build-up by the word of God to be boasting of God with the boldness and character of knowing God.
Continually, let your strength be rooted in boasting God. 
Boasting about God is a way of glorifying God with praise. 
To be acknowledging God is praising God. Psalm 50:23 buttress, “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” 

Prayer for today: Ask that God enable boasting Him to become your way of life.

LONELINESS

FAITH CAPSULE: Loneliness is evidence of the lack of focusing on God.

1 Kings 19

Focusing on the word of God is focusing on God not to be derailed from arrival to the center of divine assignment.
To focus on the word of God is concentrating on the word of God.
To focus on the word of God will gain unfailing direction in the journey of life.
Focusing on the word of God can be in meditating the word of God day and night. God spoke to Joshua to meditate 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.” 
Focusing on God is not possible to become a victim of the wicked one.
Keep in mind that the word of God is God. 
One that has a place for God in the heart is before the presence of God.
Are you focusing on God continually? 
A failure to gain and retain focusing on God will take to become lonely in the discouraging world with continual evil.
Without focusing on God, giving up in times of challenge will lead to discouragement.
Are you focusing on God maintaining yourself in the presence of God?
In this wicked world, regardless of challenges, a focus on God shall not fail to deliver.
Regardless of title in the name of God, without focusing on God is to be positioned for self-deliverance.
Elijah, a prophet of God, demonstrated loneliness that is rooted in a lack of focus.
Elijah, with great exploits, should not have lost focus on what God has done through him.
Elijah called for rain to stop for three and a half years, also called for rain to fall after three and a half years. 
Elijah called fire during a sacrifice on Mount Carmel and executed four hundred and fifty-five Baal prophets. 
Despite the exploits of Elijah before God, he confessed loneliness. 
His loneliness was the root of his concern about being the only survival prophet that escaped sudden death. 
He also escaped the threat of Jezebel with the attempt to kill him because he executed the prophets of Baal. 
Elijah ran from wilderness to mountain. 
Twice in the course of his running, he responded to the appearance of God confessing, “…I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kings 19:10) 
Loneliness was evidence of the lack of focusing on God.
Elijah requested from God during his running away from Jezebel, “It is enough! now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4) 
Elijah was in loneliness rooted in his moment of the lack of focusing on God. 
Elijah confessed negatively before God.
Are you experiencing loneliness, the root of getting overwhelmed concerning challenges in your life?
Take your stand in the word of God to regain your focus on Him. 
He alone is abundantly able to see you through.

Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled focusing on God continually.

DO YOU KNOW?

FAITH CAPSULE: knowing to be waiting on God is not a waste of time.

1 Samuel 13 

Knowing to ask, seek and knock is waiting on God, not rushing to go ahead of God.
To be waiting on God is walking and not running in the place for walking.
To be waiting on God is walking with God.
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.”
In waiting on God, are you counting to wait on the clock or counting, waiting on the time of God?
It is the man that creates the clock, but time belongs to God.
Looking into the clock is not waiting on God but an avenue to self-destruction.
Looking into the timing of God is waiting on God, the evidence of obedience to God.
A believer in God must understand to wait and endure a period of waiting on God.
Waiting can be a delay but never a waste of time.
Saul could not wait for the command of the Prophet of God (Samuel) to the Israelites at the time of war against the Philistines. King Saul could not wait for seven days, the time of God.
God testified about David when Saul failed to wait on God. 
God spoke through Samuel for the disobedience of Saul, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14) 
David knows the heart of God to understand what it means as he consistently obeyed by waiting on God before making moves. 
At the time of waiting, continually meditate on the word of God that does not return to Him void. Without a doubt, meditate to activate your faith and not become a victim as a wasted one. 
With meditation, you shall gain the strength of God and good courage as some scriptural verses point out:
Psalm 37:7, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”
Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”
Psalm 62:1, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.”
Psalm 62:5, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”
Hosea 12:6, “… wait on your God continually.”
The word of God is strong and is enough to terminate struggle in the life it gains entrance.
Word of God is not foolish, but the foolishness of man not to wait is to become wasted in the journey of life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His hand upon you to stand in waiting on Him.

KINDS OF FAITH

FAITH CAPSULE: Faith also answers with force to gain expectation. 

Hebrews 11

FAITH IS TO REMAIN PERSISTENT IN PRAYER 
In the time of challenge, to be persistent in prayer before God for the manifestation of expectation is the evidence of faith. 
For all, with persistent prayer is not to lose heart before God.
Jesus gave the parable of a widow with persistent prayer, seeking justice from a Judge that does not fear God nor regard any man, but the judge answered. If a judge with no fear for God can answer persistent prayer, God shall not ignore the persistency prayer.
Luke 18:3-8 records, “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 
And he would not for a while; but afterward, he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily…”
Be encouraged to pray with persistence before God.
FAITH IS CONFESSING POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE
Demonstrating the evidence of being faithful is confessing positive instead of confessing negative.
The word of God is the source of faith that cautions the importance of confessing positive but not confessing negative as Proverbs 18:21 records, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” An acclaimed believer with knowledge and understanding of the word of God should know and be speaking positively in the place of negative.
FAITH IS A TEARING FORCE
Faith is a force that will gain access where there is no way.
Once a paralytic man was not accessible to a healing ground when he resolved to a faith tearing force.
It happened that Jesus was in Capernaum touching the life of different sick for healing.
At the arrival of the paralytical man, there was no access to reach Jesus for his healing.
As a result of no more way to reach Jesus in the room, four men that carried the paralytic man resolute to faith means and not be discouraged to return home. The bible records, “And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So, when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” (Mark 2:4)
It was a roof tearing faith for the paralytic man. Jesus attention could not be withdrawn but responded to the roof tearing faith stating, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:4) 
Hindrance is not enough to deny a miracle that is rooted in faith.
Gain a roof tearing faith like to deny hindrance in the journey of life.
Living life demands faith!

Prayer for today: Ask God for the strength of faith to be established in your life.