Category Archives: Devotions

WHEN YOU KNOW GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: Boasting of God should be the evidence of knowing God.

1 Samuel 17

One can only boast in whom one knows. 
Boasting one you do not know is a demonstration of an empty barrel making noise. 
In your life, what or who is it that you know for sure is worth of all-day to be boasting? 
The Psalmist testifies, “In God, we boast all day long…” (Psalm 44:8) 
In this life, there is no enough exaggeration to be boasting God.
Boasting God is giving regard to God. 
God is the One and only almighty God, is the great I AM, He is worthy of all-day boasting.
Boasting of God is giving attention to God. 
Boasting God will also gain attention from God. 
Boasting of God is announcing that with God, all things are possible. Boasting of God is rooted in boldness to look in the face of even opposition to Goliath. 
Boasting of God should be a way of life, and not only boasting when there is a confronting challenge. 
Boasting of God should be a constant engagement to gain the attention of God.
Boasting an understanding of God from the heart, and not from the mouth will experience boost from the presence of God. 
Boasting God all day long will boost up one where others are grounded. Indeed, know to boast God all day long.
The armies of the children Israel and their God experienced verbal abuse by Goliath, the leader of the Philistine.
In response to the abuse of the Goliath, the Israelites became emotionally and physically grounded before Goliath and the Philistines.
Are you experiencing abuse in the face of your enemy?
Fear to over the Israelites as Goliath stood to boast of his strength stating, “…Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” (1 Samuel 17:8-10)
When David got to the battleground, he responded to Goliath by boasting his own God say, “…You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you…” (1 Samuel 17:45-46) 
Know your God, boast in Him all day long, and He will boost you over your Goliath.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to know Him.

LABOR IN THE WORD

FAITH CAPSULE: Labor the word of God to deny doubt in your thought or action.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Doubting is the avenue to self-destruction. Do not doubt, do not limit or despise the power of the word of God. Proverbs 13:13 warns“He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”  
With patient, living by the word of God will terminate struggle or challenge in any area of life. Psalm 34:19 buttresses, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” 
The word of God is the power to do and undo as directed to life challenges. 
Hebrews 4:12 describes the word, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” 
Give yourself to the word of God to deny doubt in your thought or action.
Word is indeed living, powerful, and sharper to terminate challenges to the glory of God.
Will you give yourself to the word of God to convert your challenge of mockery to a miracle?
The Bible records the word of God, “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29) God is true to His word for all that will take to Him. 
Why do you allow doubt?
Jeremiah testifies the identity of the word of God, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16) 
Do not doubt to limit or despise the power of the word of God.  
Turn to the word of God to answer you if you will work the word of God.
Working the word of God is labor. 
Laboring the word of God is obeying the word of God diligently; laboring the word of God is choosing to do the word of God instead of doing what the world says. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 states, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. The word confirms the reason to engage word laboriously and not doubt the word of God. 
Laboring the word of God is without a doubt but will deliver the blessing of God.
Do not doubt the word of God, but yourself do the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to open your ears of understanding against doubt.

GIVE REGARD TO GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: To be in worrying is to be out of worshipping God.

Mathew 6:25-34

A failure not to give regard to God will pass on to worrying instead of knowing to worship God.
The Lord Jesus is the provider that meets the needs and to give life abundantly. 
He came to take away worrying, but the enemy is in the business to put worrying in place for all to remain worrying.
To be in worrying is to be out of worshipping God. 
Jesus warns against worrying, stating the reasons not to worry, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.” (Mathew 6:25-28) 
Why worry when Jesus specifically encourages man not to worry? 
Apostle Paul buttresses the word of God when he states in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” 
God is more than capable and shall supply all your needs. 
He alone is the Almighty God, and nothing is impossible for Him to do.
The word does not promise the supply of needs based on your power or strength, but needs shall be in place for you according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Why not give regard to the living God and know to worship Him instead of worrying? 
Many meditate on the promise of God in the mouth but not meditate in mind. 
With meditating, the word of God in mind, the power of God will answer. However, when doubt is activated, the inability to wait on the promise of the word of God provokes worrying. 
Worrying can be a reason for a wrong answer, and the worrying one to react negatively in the face of a challenge. 
In the place of worrying, Jesus admonishes His disciples on how to respond to challenges of the end time, “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:11) 
The word of God for disciples also speaks to all that knows to give regards to God continually. At all times of challenges, give God regards in His words to have worrying subsided.

Prayer for today: Ask God for deliverance from the spirit of doubt and worry.

AVOID CAPTIVITY

FAITH CAPSULE: Without a doubt, the act of knowing is the way out of captivity. 

Psalm 145

Fear God, give regard to God more than ever.
Know God to say yes to God that is able and in place for you in all challenges. 
Also, you need to know God with unfailing trust and hope to say no and not be saying yes when impossibility sounds in your direction. 
Give regard to God that gives possibility over impossibility.
Giving regards to God is rooted in knowledge not to become a victim of captivity.
Do you know God not just to know about God?
Get to know God, gain the knowledge to be having an edge in ways of life.
One with the lack of knowledge is with an assurance to enter in the way that leads to captivity. Isaiah 5:13 confirms, “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.”
Without a doubt, the act of knowing is the way out of captivity. 
For example, giving regards to the work of God is with the consideration for His works and not misplace knowledge of God that keeps one from captivity. 
In life, Isaiah 5:12 clearly states the reason why the lack of knowledge drives to captivity, “…But they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the operation of His hands.”  
Psalmist also confirmed that a failure not to give regard to the work of God destroys as it states, “Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.” (Psalm 28:5) 
Give regards to God, know to avoid captivity, the way of destruction, and not be built for God.
Giving regards to God is consciously paying attention to the operation of the hand of God. Meditating on the word of God is the meditation of the word of God that creates all His work. 
Meditation is not memorizing the word of God in the head. 
Meditation is working the word of God laboriously in the heart day and night. 
As a desire for the knowledge to be regarding the work of God and not be a victim of captivity, allow mediation of the word of God to become your way of living life.
Regarding the word of God is looking closely or attentively to observe steadily, to hold in awe (reverence, fear, wonder, respect) to look upon or consider in a specified way.
Give regards to the wondrous works of God which declare His name as near to us. Psalm 75:1 testifies, “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” 
Why not begin to give regards to the works of His hand to gain and maintain the fear of God that keeps one from any form of captivity? 
Give regard to God more than ever, gain the knowledge not to become a victim of the challenges of today.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you giving Him regards.

YOUR FELLOWSHIP

FAITH CAPSULE There is power in agreement when God is the center of your fellowship.

Acts 12:1-19

The agreement is an act of agreeing; it is a state of being in accord. 
It is accord, compromise, compatible, consistency, complying, and reconciliation. 
Where the agreement exists, disagreement, dissent, disharmony, discord, disunity, dissimilarity, divorce does not exist. 
Are you in the fellowship of two, three, four, or many fellowships with the identity of agreement or disagreement? 
The roots of disagreement are lying, deception and manipulation. Agreement or disagreement is always the identity of the Christian body. 
As an acclaimed believer, where do you stand?
Is your fellowship rooted in the direction of God?
Is your fellowship building up like a Tower of Babel? 
When the people began to build the Tower of Babel, there was no agreement rooted in God. 
The people started with building outside of God; they wanted to build for self but not God. 
Building outside of your Creator is uncompromising, a disagreement with the only Creator. At the onset of building the Tower of Babel, the people state, “…Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4) 
The people arrived to build babel without agreement with their Creator. God responds to the construction by the people, “…Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” (Genesis 11:6)
What is the drive of your fellowship in an attempt to build?
Is it in the building for self or God?
In your fellowship, God, cannot be counted outside of our engagement.
A failure not to count on God in your engagement, disagreement will intervene to disarray, to bring down your fellowship engagement.
Take note that there is power in agreement when God is the center of your fellowship engagement. Jesus testifies to the power of fellowshipping, “…if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20) 
The power of agreement is in coming together for the glory of God, not for self-glorification. 
In the name of Jesus, coming together in agreement is the manifestation power. 
Once, Peter was facing death like that of James, the brother of John that was killed by King Herod. 
There was no way out for Peter to escape the hand of Herod. The bible records, “And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.”(Acts 12:6)  Peter’s deliverance came through when “…prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5) The coming together of the church in agreement delivered Peter from an untimely death in the hand of King Herod. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from religion and place you into Christ’s reality.