FAITH CAPSULE: Maintaining focus is crucial to making advance to live life for the glory of God.

Genesis 19:12-26, Daniel 1

Having a clean heart and a steadfast spirit is certain to remain walking in the Lord. Clean heart and steadfast spirit is the evidence of maintaining focus on the things of God. Maintaining focus is crucial to making advance and answering God’s calling in center of divine assignment of God. Focus will keep man from distraction. A failure to maintain focus will pass man to distraction. Distraction can be an avenue to untimely destruction. Are you focusing not to be distracted in this wicked world?
Daniel, young in captivity was able to maintain focus when he purposed in his heart not to defile God. It happened that the king ordered a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for Daniel and his friends. It sounds good for a young captive to accept provision of the king. To Daniel, King’s provision was considered as anti-focus. Daniel refused anti-focus but made the choice to maintain focus. It is written, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel remained focus to keep himself for God and he made advance everywhere he turned to. Daniel was focused to engage his journey in captivity with a purposeful heart. He allowed God to reign in his life when he refused to defile his body (the temple of God). Above all, Daniel was steadfast not to contradict his journey but advanced to the glory of God.
Lot’s wife focused on the past. Lot’s wife could not let the past be in the past she disregarded the command of God which stated, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17) Lot’s wife did the opposite when she looked back and became a pillar of salt (Genesis19:26) Whatever Lot’s wife was looking for in her past was a representative of anti-focus which caused her to become a pillar of salt and not escape as ordained for her by God. There is no one that will go forward in life by focusing on the past. This also testifies that man cannot set sight on the past and be able to see what is ahead. The case of Lot’s wife is that of a shifted focus. Lot maintained focus by looking forward to where the Lord was taking him and his family. Daniel could not allow any distraction because he maintained focus. With focus, advance in your calling for God to be glorified in your life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to gain and maintain focus.

FAITH CAPSULE: Certainly, waiting on God is a way not to be ashamed.

Psalm 27

Certainly, waiting on God is a way not to be ashamed. The psalmist buttressed, “Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:3) It is not possible to wait in God and become ashamed.
Waiting on God for manifestation in the place of expectation is exercising faith. Looking outside of God for your expectation is not waiting on God but waiting to the world. Do not be deceived, God is paying attention to every waiting on Him because God wait to act for those who wait on Him.
It is certain that waiting on God leads to right direction where expectation yields to manifestation. Waiting on God for His appointed time demands patience the evidence of boldness and character. With boldness and character, it is certain to become a winner by waiting on God.
Is your waiting on God becoming too long with no answer for your reason to be waiting on God? Psalm 37:7 buttressed, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.” Waiting on God is keeping His word and not fret in the face of any mockery by wickedness. Waiting on God is keeping hope in Him as Great Defender. Crying to God at times of waiting with answer from God is not an evidence of weakness. Psalmist testified, “I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (Psalm 69:3) God has never fail and He shall not fail concerning your waiting on Him. Waiting is not a sign of weakness, keep on waiting. Wait on God silently and patiently.
David testified in Psalm 40: 1-2, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth- praise to our God; many will see it and fear and will trust in the LORD.” Waiting for God will grant the grace to walk firmly on any ground and not fall. Passing through the trial of waiting will no doubt put a new song in the mouth of one that knows to wait. David stated in his testimony, “He makes my feet like the feet of the deer and sets me on my high places.” (2 Samuel 22:34) Waiting on God took David to his high places. Every man has a low place in the journey of life, but it is certain that waiting on God is an avenue to come out of low places to high places. Waiting on God is certain to place man above and beyond every painful situation that keeps man down. It is certain to get manifestation by waiting on God. Be encouraged by waiting on God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be waiting on Him.

Faith Capsule: The place of God’s word is in the heart of man.

Genesis 39

Hebrews 4:12 described the word of God, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The word of God is a weapon; word of God is a sword in the heart of a believer that carries the word; word of God is power and the word you carry will determine your journey in the world.
Ministering the word and praying is the reason we gathered every time we come together.
Acts 6:4 identified the word of God, “we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministering of the word.” Giving self to prayer and to the ministering of the word is praying the word instead of praying from the head. With praying the word of God is what makes it impossible not to pray amiss.
Apostle Paul admonished us, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) The word of God is not just a story but a secret for one with understand doing great exploits in the journey of life. Give self to the word of God.
The bible makes us to realize that the place of God’s word is in the heart.
Deuteronomy 11:18, “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
Joseph carried the word in his heart and he was able to arrive at the center of is divine assignment in life. As he journeyed, sin presented itself to him when the wife of his master approached him to lie with her. Joseph refused his master’s wife because of God’s word in his heart which was mastering him in every step of life. The word in Joseph’s heart responded is recorded in Genesis 39:8-9, “But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.  There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” He has hidden the word in his heart not to sin as stated in (Psalm 119:11) Imagine what could have happened to his great journey in life if he had fallen for his master’s wife?
Word of God’s place should always be in the heart to live life for the glory of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to take charge of your life.

Faith Capsule: As a temple of God, your inside gets attention of God more than your outside?

Matthew 23

Warning in the word of God is written, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) You are a temple of God. How are you keeping the temple of God?
Jesus needed to clean inside of the temple because inside gets His attention more than outside. Bible recorded, “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Luke 19:45-46) Obviously, God will never look from outside to inside but rather conducts examination from the inside to the outside. How clean are you?
As a temple of God, how clean is your inside compared to your outside? It is important to know that what you present on the outside world is not as important to God compared to what you carry in the inside. The Pharisees were one of the major sects among the Jews during the days of the New Testament. Pharisees, meaning separated ones, believed that religious rituals and separation from sinners were the way to please God. To the Pharisees, matters such as the laws of tithing and ritual purity were very important than keeping clean from inside conduct before God. Jesus referred to them as hypocrites. Word of Jesus was recorded in Matthew 23:25, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” As a temple of God, there is a need to take a close look from inside to know if you are a Pharisee of the modern day. Are you one of those who want to shine on the outside while the inside is dull and cannot be presented before God? Interestingly, man can be deceived because man looks from the outside, but God cannot be cannot be deceived because God looks from the inside. Dubious and wicked activities of hypocrites can possibly get away for long, but God’s time will expose hypocrites at appointed time of God. It is important to know that God looks from the inside not from outside.
At the time Jesus went into the temple to clean, nothing on the outside could impress Him enough not to start cleaning from the inside. Today, no man’s title will be enough to impress Jesus. As a believer, do not be deceived by your title. Man can be decorated with title, but it is task rooted in man’s heart and engaged that will impress God. Be clean from inside to answer as house of prayer to God not as a den of thieves.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to clean you up to become a house of prayer.

FAITH CAPSULE: Why are you not holding on to the peace of God?

Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 10:38-42

Are you worrying? As an acclaimed believer, carefully examine yourself to identify self and deny the spirit of worrying in your life. It does not matter the kind of title you are answering to if worrying takes the position of peace you are set to stumble. Jesus does not want us to worry when He stated, “…do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25) Worrying is true anti peace. With worrying, peace does not have a chance in man’s life. Worry and trouble are related to derail any flow of fellowship at every given time man is given to fellowship. Worry or trouble will not announce itself before or during his visitation because it is the character of the master of all thief that has come to steal, kill and to destroy. Jesus our peace from God is with us always, apostle Paul knows better from his experience as stated, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Do you have Jesus by confessing and living by His word? Ephesians 2:14 referred to Jesus, “For He Himself is our peace…” Many know about Him but knowing Him is the evidence of not having peace of Him in way of living life. Amid confronting challenge, when there is lack of knowledge that the peace of God is within, worry will reign within. Imagine an acclaimed believer, singing love for Jesus day and night but not knowing Him to retain and maintain peace when challenge shows up? The word of God cannot lie when it stated, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Psalm 119:165) Do you claim to love the Lord? Why are you not holding on to the peace of God? How possible can a man be claiming Jesus and hardly settle in peace at time of trouble?
Martha’s love for Jesus welcomed Jesus into her house. (Luke 10:38) While Jesus was in the house, Martha was overwhelmingly distracted. Distraction is disengagement, while disengagement is an avenue to misplace focus which always open door to worry and trouble. With no peace Martha laid complaint at the feet of Jesus and stated, “…Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.” (Luke 10:40) Martha welcomed Jesus into her house while worrying was active in house because she only knows about Jesus but does not know Jesus. Martha’s situation sounds like yours? Knowing about Jesus is not enough to have peace except knowing Jesus that gives peace. Jesus knows all, and He identified the problem of Martha responding to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” (Luke 10:41) Martha enjoyed serving the Lord and Savior, while worry and trouble was at work in Martha’s (house) life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know Him not just to know about Him.