FAITH CAPSULE: Who are you in the presence of God or who are you in your world?

Acts 5:1-11

As a believer, what is your identity or character before your world?
Man can be deceived but God sees all things and nothing is hidden from God.
Just as smoke cannot be separated from a burning fire, deceit and telling lies cannot be separated from the majority that is claiming and quoting the word of God.
Who are you in the presence of God or who are you in your world?
The story of Ananias and Sapphira depicts the majority of believer’s skill to deceive or lies for arrival self-ambition, in the name of God.
The book of Acts 5:1-2records, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Ananias and Sapphira’s sold their possession voluntary without force on them.
Ananias and Sapphira acted good of heart but it wrong when evidence of deception and telling lies were revealed. Both of them opened for the devil to fill them with evil’s agenda.
Ananias and Sapphira’s lies became a revelation for Peter to respond by speaking, “…Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4)
Ananias and Sapphira must have been lying long before it caught them, to expose them before brethren.
Are you living as a liar?
Telling lies can go for a long period or a short period but it will only take a day for the truth to prevail. Before God, there is no small or big lie. A lie is a lie and the end, therefore, is a sin. Sin offers nothing but death. Both Ananias and Sapphira died instantly.
The word of God reveals that deceitful is sin and will not be accessible to the presence of God. Also, a liar that is attending church regularly is not the evidence of accessing the presence of God.
The book of Psalm 101:7-8 says, “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.”
Claiming to be a believer of God’s word needs to come out of telling lies to move into the truth of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His mercy in the area of walking in sin.

FAITH CAPSULE:  Are you experiencing any challenge?

2 Samuel 6

Challenges in life are inevitable.
Challenges can be predictable or unpredictable when it comes to one’s life.
Challenges can be painful and persistence in one’s life.
Challenges can be avoidable or unavoidable.
Challenges can expose the weakness or the strength of man when it comes to one’s life.
Challenges can be a source of discouragement in life.
Are you experiencing any challenge?
Challenges can come as an affliction such as sickness, conditions or disorder in one’s life, but one with the fear of God can be encouraged as Psalm 34:19 records, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
In a time of challenging issue, keep the focus on God that will deliver all.
2 Corinthians 4:17 speaks to all challenges of affliction in one’s life, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
Challenges will question a man’s faith in God when it becomes persistently remains as pain in one’s life.
The agent of challenges of your life will ask about your faith, to mock you by asking the whereabouts of your God?
In your response to mockery question, let the agents of challenges in your life know that “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.” (Isaiah 59:1)
God has not ignored your challenges, keep the focus on God.
The agent of challenges over your life will attempt to discourage you by reminding you or questioning you saying, “how long will you wait on God with no end or answer to deliver you from your challenges?” 
Do not keep quiet to the agent of your challenge, speaking out that, “God is worthy to be thankful for bringing you thus far in life but not your present challenge that will direct your attention away from focus away from God. ”
What is the root of your challenges?
Often, the challenges of today in one’s life can be the result of a decision made on behalf of one by parents or grandparents, not knowing the consequences of challenges.
Also, one’s own wrong decision can be the cause of ongoing challenges in one’s life.
In the journey of life, one’s challenge can be the cause of doing wrong in the place to do right.
Uzzah’s challenge that terminated his life was the evidence of doing wrong in the place to do right. At the time of transferring the ark of God, at Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Uzzah did wrong in his attempt to do right provoked the hand of God against his life. 2 Samuel 6:7 records, “Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and he died there by the ark of God.”
Remain focus on the word of God to live in the word and know that regardless of the cause of the challenge, God will deliver.
God reverses irreversible.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His hand to locate you for deliverance and preservation.

FAITH CAPSULE: In this wicked world, who or what is your confidence?

Proverbs 14

Boldness and character are the winning combination that is rooted in having CONFIDENCE in God.
Having Confidence in God is what will make a difference to live life in this wicked world for the glory of God.
Having confidence in God does not happen by accident.
Get to know God, read to study and live by the word of God as confidence, the evidence of ones that KNOW GOD.
One that knows God is with confidence in God, with confidence which cannot fail to gain God’s reward.
One that knows God should not cast away the confidence but endure to do the will of God, to claim and gain God’s promise. (Hebrews 10:35-36)
What are you counting as the source of your confidence?
Job, despite his wealth, he could not count on his CONFIDENCE because of what he had or who he was in the hand of God. In his word, he identifies that if one places confidence outside of God, the sin of iniquity will count against one before God.
Job 31;24-28 , records Job’s case against having confidence outside of God, “If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’; If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great And because my hand had gained much; If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.”
Who or what is your source of confidence?
If your confidence is yet to be rooted in KNOWING GOD, you are set to be a victim of this wicked world.
Having confidence in the Lord God, His word is true to deliver and preserve one in this wicked world.
The Bible word of God records confidence in the word of God:
Psalm 65:5, “…You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas.”
Psalm 118:8-9, “It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.”
Having the confidence of God cannot be denied for one that gives self to the word of God.
With the fear of God, one will be living the confidence of God. Proverbs 14:26 buttress, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.”
The unfaithful one is the evidence of fear and confidence of God will not be in place in the time of trouble. Proverbs 25:19 buttress, ‘Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.”
Allow God to be your confidence that does not fail.

Prayer for today: Ask God that you want His confidence to reign and rule your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Disobedient to God’s word is to be in distance, away from God’s presence.

Jonah 1, 2

John 1:1 confirms, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
The word of God is God.
The word of God is the presence of God that needs to be received, obediently for one’s direction and preservation, not to become a victim of the wicked world.
The word of God is a living word that is not stagnated but move, to locate anyone for God’s direction as God purposes.
Pages of the Bible testifies how the word of God, the presence of God came to locate them for His direction:
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)
“Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying…” (1Kings 6:11)
For, Elijah to receive provision from God, through a widow, “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” (1 Kings 17:8-9)
Jeremiah testifies, “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:” (Jeremiah 1:4)
John the Baptist word came to him just like Jonah, “…the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:2-3)
When the word of God (the presence of God) comes to you, as a direction in life, obey but do not be disobedient, to avoid self-destruction.
The word of God came to Jonah, but he disobeyed to miss the presence of God.
The Bible records, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so, he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” (Jonah 1:1-3) Jonah’s disobedience to God’s word of direction is identified as Jonah’s fleeing from the presence of God.
Without doubt, disobedience to walk against the word of God (the presence of God) is the avenue to destruction.
Jonah’s disobedient of God placed him into the STORM at SEA.
Bible records, “But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken up.” (Jonah 1:4)
Disobedient to the word of God is walking from the presence of God into the distance.
Are you walking away from the word of God?

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s hand to keep you from walking away from His word of direction.

FAITH CAPSULE: With God’s calling over your life as Christ-like, avoid hatred.

John 4:1-45

Are you having hatred for some?
Do you have hatred focused on a particular one?
Proverbs 10:18 identifies the character of one with hatred in the depth of heart, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips…”
Are you a liar not knowing that you have hatred in your heart?
Are you a liar that answers as a believer of the word of God?
Do not hide hatred, do not be a liar to avoid sin that sets man away from the presence of God in the journey of life.
Jesus Christ, the Truth could not hide hatred or told lies in every step of His ministry.
As a Christ-like, everything is in place for you, to work in your favor if you will replace yourself as a Christ-like.
Do away with hatred, live life as a Christ-like.
It was truthfulness of Jesus, evidence of no hatred, that made Him went through Samaria at His time of returning from Judea to Galilee.
Going through Samaria is often forbidden by the Jew because of hatred for the Samarians. Jesus came in love and could not walk outside of love.
Are you a Christ-like with no hatred rooted in your heart?
Is hatred in the heart that is distracting your calling by God?
It was in the hate polluted route that Jesus was able to plant one of the most effective testimonies of salvation. Jesus bypassed hatred to allow the revelation of living water to come to life and become more distinct in the life of the people of Samaria.
In this route of hatred, He encountered a Samaritan woman and He asked for water to drink. Jesus introduced the living water to the Samaritan woman because hatred did not influence Jesus. Jesus knew quite well that she does not have what it takes to draw living water for Him to drink. Without hidden hatred, Jesus made it known to the Samaria woman, “…Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)
The journey of Jesus demonstrated no hatred but ministered salvation to the Samaritan woman that received the message of salvation with joy.
Hatred is rooted in pride but having pride is like engaging a personal ride to self-destruction. Pride is a sin before God, to derail one from God’s calling.
Are you on the right track of your calling?
With God’s calling over your life as Christ-like, avoid hatred, do not be trapped by hatred.
Deny self; deny untruthfulness and do not allow hatred to come your way of calling to serve as a Christ-like.
Jesus could not be derailed by hatred, and you as a Christ-like, you shall not become a victim, not be derailed from calling’s God by hatred.

Prayer for today: Ask before God for you not to become a victim of hatred.