FAITH CAPSULE: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Acts 11

What makes a man be a CHRISTIAN is not just by attending a gathering in the name of a church or by quoting the word of God, but living life as CHRIST LIKE.
Are you a CHRISTIAN searching self to gain the understanding to know God?
So many answers as Christian but not live life as Christian because they have no understanding and LACK KNOWLEDGE!
Are you answering as CHRISTIAN?
Do you have an understanding of what it means to be a CHRISTIAN?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN (CHRIST LIKE)?
With the persecution, the followers of Jesus Christ scatteredas far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Lord Jesus. At Antioch, they were called Christians, meaning Christ-like.  Acts 11:26 records, “…And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Living life as a disciple, a follower of Jesus’ ways of life is what identifies a believer as Christian (Christ-like) but many answers as Christian and not live life as a Christian.
A Christian should live life, searching self, to seek God to follow the word of God as His disciple. 
Do you search yourself as David testifies in Psalm 139:23, “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.”
SEARCH YOUR SELF continually, to seek GOD diligently as a Christian.
Search yourself in the word of God as like looking into a mirror to be addressing self, living life as Christ-like.
Among reasons to SEARCH SELF continually, to seek God, to gain understanding and know God is not to be lost in the TIME one is living.  Ecclesiastes 9:12 WARNS all, “For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them.”
What you do not SEARCH (SEEK) to gain UNDERSTAND or to know about will not be found.
God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
Do you search to know why you are not with KNOWLEDGE?
Lack of knowledge is evidence of no understanding.
Without understanding how can there be knowledge, not to become a victim of destruction?
God is mindful of all about the issue of no understanding as word records, “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.” (Psalm 53:2)
Isaiah 56:11 also points out the reason for no understanding stating, “Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.”
Search yourself to be a Christian (Christ-like).
Search yourself continually, gain understanding to know God.
Live life not to become a victim of the wicked ones or not to be a wicked one, but to be led in the way of everlasting.

Prayer for today: Ask God to provoke you that you will continually search your heart.

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.