FAITH CAPSULE: In life, every situation is reversible with faith.

2 Kings 20

John 1:1-3 records, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.”
Jesus is the word of God that was and is responsible for the creation of all and able to reverse irreversible.
In life, every situation is reversible with faith.
The word of God is the source of faith. Romans 10:17 testifies, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
One that is filled with the word of God will be faithful to be living by the word of God.
To be living by the word of God (as a believer) will work the works of God.
Jesus was asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28)
He answered the question, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:29)
Are you a believer that work the works of God, one that is faithful?
Many answers as a believer but not living by the word of God.
Also, one that claims to have faith is not evidence of one that is faithful.
Every irreversible situation is reversible by one that is faithful, living by the word of God.
Are you faithful?
Faith is putting God’s word to work by one that is faithful.
Hezekiah needed to reverse untimely death over his life so he put faith to work.
Hezekiah’s faith was his prayer to God when he put faith to work by praying. 2 Kings 20:1-6 records, “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’” Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 “Remember now O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day, you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years…”
Prayer is rooted in the faith which is working the words of God just as Hezekiah did to reverse irreversible in his life. Prayer works!

Prayer for today: Ask God to give you the strength of prayer on the prayer altar.

FAITH CAPSULE: Greediness will drive wanting to distract one for destruction.

2 Kings 5

Another way to avoid distraction is to remain focus on the word of God.
The promise of God states, “…God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Having known that one’s need is in place according to God’s promise, seeking after wants can open one for distraction.
With seeking the word of God, satisfaction will become established in one’s life to deny distraction.
Gehazi was the servant of Elisha with no reason for need when he went for WANTS, against Elisha’s direction against his wants. It happened that when Naaman a leper was healed as directed by Elisha, he returned to Elisha with a gift.
Naaman’s gift was not a need for Elisha when he refused and not to accept Naaman’s gift. However, the greed of Gehazi (Elisha’s servant) prompted his want to go after Naaman for the gift against Elisha’s refusal.
2 Kings 5:20-23 records Gehazi’s desire for wants, “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him.”
The greediness of Gehazi drove him to go for WANT, ignoring his having enough need. After Gehazi’s return from claiming Naaman’s gift despite Elisha’s decision not to accept the gift, Elisha rebuked and cursed Gehazi as stated: “Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.”
Elisha’s curse upon Gehazi was prompted by Gehazi’s going after want when his greedy for his want was not needed.
The want for Gehazi opened him for the distraction to derail him from arriving at God’s divine assignment over his life.
With no doubt, the will of God for man does not include distraction.
Distraction is rooted in the choice of one that is ignorant of God’s will for all man.
By watching and praying to God continually against distraction, one will arrive at God’s divine assignment for one’s life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His hand to keep you away from distraction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you itinerant Jewish exorcists of today?

Acts 19:1-20

Do you know Him or you know about Him?
With no exception, Matthew 7:21-23 speaks to all, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Itinerant Jewish exorcists wanted to demonstrate miracle after witnessing Paul the apostle’s demonstration of the miracle.
The Bible records, “Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” (Acts 19: 13) Interestingly, the evil spirit could not identify the itinerant Jewish exorcists as ones in Jesus but identified Paul as one in Jesus.
The Itinerant Jewish exorcists do not know Jesus.
One that only knows about Jesus does not know Jesus.
One that only knows about Jesus, claiming to know Jesus will be positioning self for self-destruction.
The Itinerant Jewish exorcists wanted to take a position as one that knows God but failed. Bible records the reaction of the evil spirit to the Itinerant Jewish exorcists, “…Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:15-16)
Who are you before God?
Are you one that does not know God?
One that knows about God but not knows God is an unbelieving believer.
The itinerant Jewish exorcists do not know God and not carry the power of God for a miracle. Just like the itinerant Jewish exorcists, are you attempting what you do not carry in the power of God?
By your action, are you answering to what you do not carry in the power of God?
As a believer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, what you carry will identify who you are in the Lord. Today, so many kinds of itinerant Jewish exorcists are not in the few but in the plenty numbers. 2 Timothy 3:5 talked about the itinerant Jewish exorcists of then and of today, “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
If you do not know God, come out of religion to know God and be living life for God not deceiving your world like the itinerant Jewish exorcists.
Galatians 6:7 warned against deception, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” How long do you want to be like itinerant Jewish exorcists? What is it that will identify you as a Christ follower?

Prayer for today: Ask God for His grace to fill you with the knowledge of His word to know Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Distraction will not announce itself, watch it!

2 Peter 2

A distraction is something that takes your attention away from what you supposed to be doing.
Distraction will not announce itself at the time of approaching man but will consciously or unconsciously have a place in man’s life.
Distraction can cause extreme agitation of the mind or emotions in one’s life.
The coming of distraction into one’s life is the evidence of lack of being calm or not to be at the peace of God.
Undeniably, giving oneself to listening to the word of God is the antidote to deny distraction coming into one’s life.
God listens to all.
God created all to be able to listen.
With no doubt, one that listens to the word of God day and night, to keep all His commandments will not become a victim of distraction.
Jesus emphasized the importance of listening when He spoke rhetorically in John 8:43, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” When listening does have a place in one’s life, one will gain understanding against distraction.
Among the weapon of the devil to derail man from arrival to God’s center of divine assignment is a distraction.
Distraction comes to man through the agent of the devil to derail man with deception and lying.
The documentation of Adam and Eve is for all of us to learn for avoiding distraction that will come through deception.
Bible records God’s command to Adam, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
After God’s command to Adam, the serpent approached Eve with distraction to deceptively twist God’s command to Adam saying “…Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) In the conversation of the serpent with Eve, the serpent lied about God command for Adam.
Paying attention to the above interaction between Serpent and Eve, it is clear that, God did not command Adam and Eve not to eat of every tree, but God commanded them not to eat just one of all the tree.
Eve’s distraction was the evidence of not listening to understand God’s command when she wrongly responded to the serpent, “…We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” (Genesis 3:2-3)
Just like Eve’s interaction with serpent the agent of the devil, not being able to listen to God’s word, one will give self to distraction in the hand of the devil. With the distraction, deception will succinctly settle man for derailment not to arrive in the center of the divine assignment.

Prayer for today: Pray not to be a victim of distraction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Listen, hear to do according to God’s word that is able to terminate struggle in one’s life.

2 Kings 4:1-7, Psalm 107

In the word of God, there is healing and deliverance. Psalm 107:20 buttressed, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” Just a word of God is enough to terminate struggle in the life of one that receives and give self to the word of God.
Prophet Elisha of God spoke to a certain woman with debt and full of lack, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” (2 Kings4: 3-4) In the spoken word of direction by Elisha to the certain woman was to go and borrow empty vessels.
The message of borrowing more vessels by the certain woman was to add to her existing debt. Realistically, the word of Elisha the prophet of God does not sound reasonable and convincing in the ear of the woman and to the world of then and the world of today.
The certain woman obeyed the word of God through Elisha. In her testimony is the shut down of her world to open to the word of God.
Also, in her testimony is her movement from struggle to success, lack to fullness.
In every obedience to the word of God, there will always be a way where there is no way.
In challenges of life, have you been receiving the word of God for direction in your life? The right answer is, make the right choice to give self to the word of God.
In this new season, shut self in the word of God and be a living testimony of victory in every area of challenges.
The certain woman did according to the prophet of God’s word and returned with her report as reported, “Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:7)
Also, giving self to the word of God is shutting self in the word of God that is sent by God for deliverance and preservation from destruction. (Psalm 107:20)
This season and seasons ahead in your life, come out of the religion of knowing about God to know God.
Are you going to give self to listening or you will be walking away from God’s word without listening?
Listen, hear to do according to God’s word that is able to terminate struggle in one’s life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know God and live life of obedience to God’s word.