FAITH CAPSULE: Are you living a life of obedience or disobedience?

Judges 16

The word of God demands obedience to His word. The word of God is with promises to be manifested in the life one with obedient to God, living life obeying God. In the journey of life, it is for all to be responsible for doing or not doing as commanded by God with the expectation of what one does.
Are you living a life of obedience or disobedience?
Obedience to God which is the word of God will drive a man to arrive at God’s divine assignment while disobedience will derail a man’s arrival to God’s divine assignment.
Abraham lived a life of obedience to the word of God. God called him out of his land and his family when he answered obediently to God. The test of God for Abraham was his obedience for answering God’s calling to go and sacrifice Isaac, his son. Genesis 22:1-3 records: “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “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.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
Abraham’s obedience was counted as a faith which positioned him in God’s divine assignment. (Hebrews 11:8)
Abraham obeyed, he could not fail before God but was able to claim the promises of God for his life. (Hebrews 11:17)
Just like Abraham, any obedient to God’s word will arrive at God’s divine assignment. How is your journey of life in obedience to God?
Disobedience of Samson was costly:
Before the birth of Samson, his parent received God’s word for Samson and his mother to actively obey. Judges 13:3-5 records: “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now, therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” The word of God to obey comes with painful consequence when it is disobeyed.
Samson fell in love with Delilah. Delilah is bribed by the lords of the Philistines to discover the source of his strength. After three failed attempts at doing so, she finally goads Samson into telling her that his strength is from his hair. As he sleeps, Delilah orders a servant to cut Samson’s hair, thereby enabling her to turn him over to the Philistines.
Give self to obeying God’s word not disobeying His word.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable your obedience to His word as your way of life.

Faith Capsule: What does it mean to stand (abide) in Jesus?

John 8:31-59

Abide is to continue in a relationship without yielding or submitting. To abide in Jesus is what Jesus demands from everyone that believes in Him. The book of John 8:31 recorded, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” Manifestly, claiming to be a believer and not abide in Him is a joke, which is ceremonial religion. Today, many believer’s life does not demonstrate the testimony of one that is abiding in Jesus.
Think of it for a moment, does your way of life demonstrates the word of Jesus? Failure to abide in Jesus is the evidence of pride which is the agent of failure.
What does it mean to abide in Jesus?
1 John 3:24, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this, we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” To keep the commands of God is to love. Galatians 5:14 admonished us, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:8 also stated, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
What happens when one does not abide in Him?
-John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To whom the truth is threatening, knowing to accept the truth is almost impossible except if God reaches out to such. Those who receive the truth as a threat are ones with the perception of being set to be attacked. As a result, they are under the bondage of pride; they are not free thinking they are free. Above all, they are difficult to be corrected or redirected.
-Those who do not abide in Him are rebellious. Evidently, they do not know the ways of God but thinking they are the ones that know better. Job 24:13 buttressed “There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths.” Jesus is the wisdom from God for us. Why don’t you give your ears to hearing the rebukes of life just like Proverbs 15:31 admonished, “The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise.”
-A failure to abide in Him is a passage to living life in darkness. In John 12:46, Jesus said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” Evidently, it is not possible to be answering as an acclaimed believer and be full of darkness. To be full of darkness is abiding in darkness. The desire for God’s strength to abide in God’s word.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the strength of God to abide in Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Continually engage God’s word for your upgrading.

Hebrews 11

WORD OF GOD IS LIKE MIRROR TO ADDRESS UPGRADING IN GOD.
Looking into the word of God as a mirror will be addressing or re-addressing one in the word of God, for one’s upgrading in God.
Upgrading takes place when one hears to see in the word of God, believing to receive will becomes of one.
Are you able to see in the word of God that you hear when you read or preached to, in the word of God?
One that is not spending time in the word of God will not be conversant with the word of God to see in the word of God and become one that is upgrading self as heard in the word of God.
Joshua’s hearing to see in the word of God was his upgrading in the Lord God as the source of having victories over his enemies. In the time of the journey of the Israelites to the promised land, Jericho attempted to deny the passage for the Israelites when God spoke victory over Jericho as stated: “And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:2) Joshua with his upgrade by walking in the word of God, he was able to see, to receive in the word of God for victory over Jericho.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD IS UPGRADING IN THE LORD GOD
Living in this wicked world of today demands constant and consistent upgrading by seeking God. Seeking God is pleasing God. Pleasing God is obedience to God’s word continually. In a wicked world, Enoch upgraded self by walking with God; Enoch expressed a life of fellowship with God because of his growing (upgrading) in the Lord God. The Bible records about Enoch, “By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  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 11:5-6)
In this wicked world, with obedience to God’s word is upgrading in the Lord.
STANDING IN GOD’S WORLD IS UPGRADING IN THE LORD GOD
In this wicked world, Elijah lived a life of upgrading by taking a stand for God continually, against false religious leaders and kings. Elijah did not align self with wicked kings and leaders.
Are you living outside of God’s word?
Are you aligning self with wicked ones?
Elijah’s life of taking the stand in the word of God kept him upgraded in the wicked world. Elijah did not die but went up to heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11) Walking and standing in the word of God is impossible to become a victim of a wicked world. Remain standing to continue upgrading in the Lord God regardless of the wickedness of the world.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His hand to keep you growing in Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: What are you doing for self-upgrading in the Lord God?

Matthew 6

Another word for “upgrade” is: improve, raise, make better or elevate. The word upgrade speaks to every acclaimed believer of God to continually raise self and not become a victim of this wicked world.
Are you a man with understanding that there is a need for upgrading self in the word of God to be able to withstand continual wickedness of this world?
Every man should respond to continual wickedness of this world, not to become a victim demands self-upgrading in the Lord God continually.
The word of God testifies to the wickedness of this world: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent[d] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ” (Genesis 6:5-6)
If the car manufacturers are upgrading car for buyers constantly, it speaks out responsible for the upgrading of all man continually in the Lord God.
Also, If the homeowners continually give their house upgrading with the renovation, if the computer engineers invest continually to upgrading computers are you upgrading self in the Lord God?
All believer should know and understand that if the devil is in the business of upgrading his cunning devices, then all man should desire and be exposed to constant self-upgrade in the word of God.
Giving self to upgrading in the Lord God demands:
Prayer and ministry of the word of God.
Apostle Paul’s admonished as stated, “we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)
Praying without the ministry of the word is not enough to upgrade any believer. Every believer should give self to the word of God if there is a desire for self’s upgrading. Prayer will draw man to grow in the Lord God. Prayer is what Jesus called for when He said, “when you pray” (Matthew 6:5-7) The calling for prayer as a must is among ways to be continually upgraded in the Lord God.
To search or study in God’s word will upgrade one before God.
One that is searching or studying in the word of God will be upgrading self continually in the Lord God. The book of Ecclesiastes 1:13 speaks to the importance of searching for self’s upgrading: “And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [a]exercised.”
A man that is studying in the word of God is upgrading self in God to become approved to God as buttressed in 2 Timothy 2:15 as stated: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
There is nothing like giving self to studying the word of God for self-upgrading in the Lord God.
What are you doing for self-upgrading in the Lord God?

Prayer for today: Ask God for the opening of your ears to hear in His word and become for Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Wickedness one in the heart knows self.

Psalm 73

The agenda of the wicked is to do evil. The existence of wicked ones in life sometimes appears better and glamorous, but one with fear of God will wonder why wickedness exists. However, no man should focus on how wicked ones are living life but to only be careful and have heart directed to the love of God.  None is judge except God, and all should allow God to do as He pleases. The book of Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 stated, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.”
Are you walking in the word of God or walking in the wickedness of the world? God is not sleeping but sees all that exists under heaven and in position to judge at His appointed time.
What kind of heart do you have before God?
Jeremiah 17:9-10 buttressed, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” The deceitful heart can be the unbeliever’s heart or the acclaimed believer’s heart.
Can you identify if you are wicked or not wicked?
Psalm 73 identified some glaring wicked heart:
Pride serves as their necklace.
Violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes bulge with abundance.
They have more than heart could wish.
They increase in riches.
They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression.
They speak loftily (arrogantly)
They set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walks through the earth.
Are you one that is claiming the word of God but not living life by the word of God? It is wickedness to be living outside of God to incur the sentence of God at God’s appointed time. Today, come out of wickedness to avoid God’s sentence against evil work.
As regard to the wickedness of the wicked ones, Jeremiah stated before God, “Righteous are You, O Lord when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit…” (Jeremiah 12:1-2) Jeremiah called on God’s attention to the way of wickedness out of his concern. Are you walking the way of wickedness? Keep your heart diligently not to become a wicked one before God.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s fear to become your garment keeping you for being wicked.