Faith Capsule: With worrying fear will rise, faith will sink.

Exodus 14

Is there a position for worrying and trouble in your mind?If you will give self to the warning in the word of God, there shall be no place for worrying to take charge of you.
Matthew 6:25 warns, “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…”
John 14:1 warns, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
To be worried or troubled is against the warning of God.
When keeping eyes on confronting challenge one is set to sink into worrying or to become troubled. 
Are you beholding your challenge instead of looking up to God for His intervention?
Exodus 14:10-12 documents what it means to become worried by looking away from God, “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” 
Does the word sound like you?
The Israelites could not look up to God for His intervention but were worried and gave to negative confession.
No one is with exception from worrying and trouble.
Despite all the teachings of Jesus against fear and worrying, once, His disciples worried when they gave to fear of the Jews. John 20:19 records, “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” While they were locked up in the state of fear, Jesus gained entrance with peace for His disciples.
With faith in Jesus, peace will reign in the place of fear.
With Jesus’ in place with His disciples, the eyes of their minds were opened to see the mark of crucifixion as the Bible states, “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20) 
With the mark of Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples came out of worrying.
If you will begin to see the marks of crucifixion and believe that the marks were registered on Jesus, worrying and trouble will cease.

Prayer for today: Ask from God to bold with the character of His word not to give self to worrying.

FAITH CAPSULE: To fear God, to live life by His word.

Job 1

To be alive this far is the Lord God’s doing over your life.Today, remember self to live life in the fear of God continually.
Think about, living life this far is not a right but a great privilege of God. 
Fear God, He is the One that has brought you this far. 
The Bible records the reasons for all to live life in the fear of God.
Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.”
Deuteronomy 4:10, “…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.”
Job 28:28, “…And to man, He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding…”
To fear God is abiding in Him and not depart from Him. 
Jeremiah 32:40 buttressed, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”
Are you serving God with no understanding? Serving God is to fear Him. Psalm 2:11, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” 
To live life in the promise of God is to fear God continually.
Psalm 25:12-14, “Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” 
Psalm 33:18 “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.”
Psalm 34:7-9 “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.”
Have the fear of God that will keep you under the eyes of God.
Luke 1:50, “And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.”
This far, fear God!
Revelation 2:10 said it all, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.” Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Let the fear of God become your way of life. 
The fear you have for God will draw you near to God that is never far from all His creation.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s fear to rule over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The heart of a man is a target for Satan’s strike.

Luke 22

The bible describes the heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) 
“This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that, they go to the dead.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
By the description of the heart in the Bible, the heart indeed is where the rise and fall of man begins. 
What flows from the heart of a man is the testimony of a man. 
The heart of a man will make or break a man.
The heart of a man is the target of the devil. 
Judas spent time with Jesus but his heart demonstrated as a target for Satan’s act in his life. The Bible records, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.” (Luke 22:3-4) 
Satan went after the vulnerable heart of Judas and he was able to establish his plan to betray Jesus. 
Invariably, faith will fail when the enemy attacks the heart. 
Peter was close to Jesus but he was not the exception of becoming a victim of the devil. 
Once Jesus said to Peter, “…Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32) 
The heart of a man is a target for Satan’s strike. 
Ananias and Sapphira were not forced to sell their possession but lied about the proceedings of their selling. Peter responds to the lying, “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep part of the price of the land for yourself? (Acts 5:3) 
A heart that is engaged by meditating the word of God is disengaged from negotiation with the devil. 
Determination by a man, to keep focus from giving to Satan is not enough.
Why?
It was a determination that failed Peter in his attempt to deny Satan, not to deny Jesus. 
Thank God that Jesus prayed for Peter because He knew that determination is not enough against the devices of Satan. 
It is a wise thing to join King David in praying as  Psalm 51:10 records, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” 
What is the state of your heart? 
Meditate the word and keep your heart from the agenda of Satan.
God answers prayer.

Prayer for today: Ask from God to enable you to constantly against Satan’s devices in your heart. 

FAITH CAPSULE: You must know God, knowing about God is not enough.

Hebrews 11

Among the reasons why you do not know God but only know about God is the lack of understanding and not believe Him.
Lack of Understanding:
A failure of giving attention will result in a listening disability. Jesus questioned and answered why lack of understanding, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (John 8:43)
It is not possible to understand what or who you do not know. The world is too busy for self, and not to give attention to God. One that gives attention to God will listen to gain understanding, to know God for who He is. He is a good God, the One that reverses irreversible.
Forgetting attributes of God:
Forgetting attributes of God, not being thought about Him will not know God. Deuteronomy 4:5-6 buttresses, “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding…” One that is not exposed to learn about God will not give attention to understand the attributes of God enough to know God.
Truth is not appealing:
Truth is not popular, is not acceptable to the world. It is not possible to know what is not accepted, not believed. John 8:45-47 records Jesus’ word that speaks the truth about not knowing God, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore, you do not hear, because you are not of God.” One that does not accept truth to believe does not know God that is true.
You must know God to come out of the religion of this wicked world.
To know God is rooted in the living word of God, written for understanding if any will give self to study the word of God.
To study the word of God is a sacrifice with the cost of labor.
To know God is seeking God diligently, to please Him and to find God as promised, “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.” (Hebrews 11:6)
You must know God, knowing about God is not enough to excuse before God to escape the consequence that is set with lasting pain.
Know God, come out of religion to live life for the glory of God.
You must know God the truth to know and be free.

Prayer for today: Ask God to make you know Him more.

FAITH CAPSULE: With obedience, without complaint, you shall have a journey through.

Genesis 22

God called and spoke to Abraham, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2) Abraham’s only son, whom he loves, was requested for as burnt offering by the One that was and that is in position to give and to take away as He pleases. Without questioning God, Abraham answered God’s calling to sacrifice his son. As if it was not challenging enough for Abraham to answer God’s command for the sacrifice of Abraham’s only son, the journey to the center of sacrifice (the land of Moriah) was to take three days.
Imagine how nagging it must have been in the mind of Abraham for not knowing the exact location and having to travel for three days. 
The Bible records, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.” (Genesis 22:4)
The journey must have been the longest three days of Abraham’s life and yet there was no record of any complaint. 
With the complaint, Abraham could have made it the longest three days journey of his life. However, Abraham kept quiet and kept the journey short. 
During the Israelites’ journey of freedom from the bondage of over four hundred years, they could not keep quiet to keep their journey short. The Israelites’ complaint converted eleven days’ journey to forty years journey. The book of Deuteronomy 1:2-3 testifies, “It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them.” Eleven days’ journey turned out to be forty years journey because the Israelites could not resist complaining against God’s ordained journey. 
Many words will no doubt cause trouble. 
The Bible records against talking carelessly, “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” (James 1:19) Careless talking can lead to complaining before God.
Abraham kept his cool and focused on God’s command. It must have been a difficult and challenging journey for him yet he kept on going through without complaint. 
Abraham’s free of complaint relegated distraction and elevated his focus on God. 
Abraham gave a reasonable sacrifice to God. 
Abraham committed without any complaint, and God declared him as one who feared Him. 
Abraham released Isaac unto God in each step of his response to God’s command. 
Abraham demonstrated that he loved God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength. 
In the journey of life, there is a beginning and an end when a call of sacrifice comes our way; answering to God’s calling has to be carried out to the end. Obedience does not require a half heart; it requires the whole heart (to wholly follow God’s command). 

Prayer for today: Ask for His hand to hold you through in His calling all the days He has given you.