Category Archives: Devotions

THREE THINGS

FAITH CAPSULE: Three things about faith that will draw one to God.

Hebrews 11

Three things identified about faith:
FAITH IS TO REMAIN PERSISTENT IN PRAYER 
In times of challenge, persistent prayer before God prompts manifestation of expectation, the evidence of faith. 
For all, persistent prayer does not lose heart before God.
Jesus gave the parable of a widow with persistent prayer, seeking justice from a judge who neither feared God nor regarded any man, but the judge answered. If a judge who fears neither God nor man can answer persistent prayer, God will not ignore persistent prayer.
Luke 18:3-8 records, “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 
And he would not for a while; but afterward, he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily…”
Be encouraged to pray with persistence before God.
FAITH IS CONFESSING POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE
Demonstrating the evidence of faithful is confessing positive instead of confessing negative.
The word of God is the source of faith.
Faith is confessing positive in the place of negative, as Proverbs 18:21 records, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
An acclaimed believer with knowledge and understanding of the word of God should know to speak positively as a way of life.
FAITH IS A TEARING FORCE
Faith is a force that will gain access where there is no way.
Once, a paralytic man was not able to access a healing ground when he resolved to take action in faith, a tearing force.
At Capernaum, Jesus touched and healed different sick people.
At the arrival of the paralytic man, there was no way to reach Jesus for his healing. As a result, the four men carrying the paralytic man moved, moved by faith, to reach Jesus through the roof.
The bible records, “And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So, when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” (Mark 2:4)
A roof-tearing faith enabled the paralytic man to gain entrance to Jesus. Jesus attention could not be withdrawn, but responded to the roof tearing faith stating, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:4) 
Hindrance is not enough to deny a miracle that is rooted in faith.
Gain a roof-tearing faith, to deny hindrance in the journey of life.
Faith also answers with force to gain expectation. 
Living life demands faith!

Prayer for today: Ask God for the strength of faith to be established in your life.

THE HEART FOR GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: Do you have a place for God in your heart?

Romans 10

Do you have a heart for God?
God testifies that David has a heart for Him.
God pays attention to all hearts.
The place for the Word of God is the heart of all who open for His entrance.
Jesus appeals for all hearts to be opened for Him.
Revelation 3:20 records the words of Jesus, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Do you have a place for God in your heart?
A heart not full of the word of God is empty of God.
Why not make your heart available for God? 
Do you have a place in your heart for the word of God?
A heart with no place for the word of God is not faithful before God.
Be open to the word of God. 
Attending church or being a member of a church that gathers in the name of God all day and night is no evidence of having a heart for the word of God.
Are you giving yourself to the word of God?
Do you understand where the word of God belongs as the host of the word of God?
The word of God is God; His word is His command, the word of God is His law, and the testimony of God is also His word.
The place for the word of God is in the heart of man, but many have no room to open up.
Do you have a place for God in your heart?
Pages of the Bible testify that the place for the word of God is in the heart of man.
Deuteronomy 6:6 records, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” 
Deuteronomy 11:18: “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart.” 
Job 22:22, “Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.” 
Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” 
Proverbs 4:4, “He also taught me and said to me: ‘Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands and live.” 
Ezekiel 3:10, “…Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.” 
Without a doubt, God belongs in a heart that opens for His entrance.
The word of God is magnified above all the names of God. (Psalm 138:2) 
Why not make your heart available for God? 
Mark it, and know that any heart closed to the word of God is a heart occupied by the world.
Be awake to God, and He will make your heart His place.

Prayer for today: Ask that your heart be open to receive the word of God.

FIVE AND SIX

FAITH CAPSULE: One with fear and worry are inseparable, like five and six.

Exodus 14

Worry is a choice.
Choose not to give in to worry.
Are you looking to the God of the world or to the perfect Creator?
Worry in the face of challenge is not looking to God, who does everything.
Any time one keeps eyes on confronting challenges, one will miss God.
Are you beholding your challenge?
Are you looking into the face of your challenge?
Exodus 14:10-12 documents the issue of fear by the Israelites: “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.” 
As an acclaimed believer, does that sound like you? 
No reasonable excuse for fear before God.
The Israelites knew fully well that God would deliver, but they gave in to fear. 
The Israelites were worried and troubled.
Know that worshipping God gives His peace. 
Worrying instead of worshipping is always the root of negative confession.
The solution to challenges is to gain and retain focus on God and the word of His promise. 
Despite all the powerful teachings of Jesus against fear and worrying, the disciples went ahead and locked themselves up in fear of the Jews. “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.” (John 20:19)
While they were locked up in fear, Jesus showed up and declared peace. Jesus, the Word of God, is the Prince of peace. 
Understand and know: look to Jesus as Lord and Savior for deliverance.
Faith in Jesus will cause peace to reign. 
After Jesus spoke peace into the life of His disciples, their eyes of the mind opened to see the mark of crucifixion that He carries. (John 20:20)
Do you know that Jesus carries a mark on your behalf?
The devil authors fear. 
John 10:10 records the encouraging word of Jesus, for all not to worry, not to give in to fear: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. “It is a choice not to give in to worry rooted in fear.

Prayer for today: Ask for the boldness and character that is in Jesus. 

GIVE IT ALL

FAITH CAPSULE:  Give more earnest heed to His word of God.

Jeremiah 30

The word of God is not to convince, but to be committed to by all. 
Also, the word of God is not for decoration but for declaration. 
The word of God is for deliverance, healing, and preservation.
Are you giving yourself to the word of God?
The evidence of one who gives himself to the word is that he lives by the word of God.
Answering as a believer in God, with no evidence of declaring the word of God, does not live life by the word of God but as a religious one.
Come out of RELIGION of the mouth, but give self to the word of God. 
Giving earnest heed to the word of God will bring you close to God.
Living by the word of God is rooted in giving more earnest heed. 
Living by the word of God works for those who work the works of God. 
What is your work with the word of God?
John 6:28 Jesus answered, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” One who gives earnest heed to Jesus lives life by the word of God.
Jesus is the word of God.
Give more earnest heed to His word.
The word of God is POWER with no substitute.
The word of God is the way for salvation.
The power in the word of God is for deliverance and preservation.
What is holding you from giving earnest heed to the word of God?
The word of God is power.
By the word, Jesus brought Lazarus from the grave after four days. Bible records: “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:42-43)
Importantly, give earnest heed to the word of God to dwell and abide in the presence of God.
Dwelling and abiding in the word of God is the evidence of a pledge to approach God.
Those that pledge to approach God are the ones that make up their mind for God, who is mindful of man. Jeremiah 30:21-22 buttressed, “…For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord. You shall be My people, and I will be your God.’”
How is your way of life demonstrating the pledge of your heart to God?
Give more earnest heed to the word of God!

Prayer for today: Ask for your ears to hear and receive the word of God into your heart

ASKING FROM GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: God magnified His word above all His name.

Psalm 138

Psalm 28:5 records, “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.”
God’s works are His word.
God’s work operates through His word.
His word is His word.
What God says He will do is a done deal.
What God says does not return without performing as said.
Pray the word of God that does not return void to Him.
Isaiah 55:11 confirms the doing of the word of God, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Are you praying the word of God, the evidence of faith in God?
Praying the word of God will provoke the hand of God to remember with favor and visit with salvation. 
Acts 6:4 informs all, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
How will one pray the word that does not gain entrance into one who is praying before God?
Interestingly, Psalm 119:130 admonishes, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”
The Bible identifies the simple as the believer.
Psalm 116:16 testifies, “The Lord preserves the simple…”
Proverbs 14:15 confirms, “The simple believes every word…”
Today, set yourself before God; turn to God with trust and hope that God shall not ignore your prayer.
PRAYER is the key, moving forward with God, living life before God, and not being far from God, who is near to all.
Get to pray the word of God below:
Romans 10:3 records, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”
Ask God to delete every trace of ignorance in your life.
Ask that God enable you to be submissive to Him.
Ask that you shall not be a faith failure all the days He has given you.
Ask God to enable you to be awake in every route of His deliverance and preservation, not to be trapped but to experience His move in your life. 
Ask God that in challenging days, He shall enable you not to be entangled in the affairs of life but to focus on Him continually.
Ask that God, in His mercy, disconnect you from every line that is 
communicating wrong to lead you wrong before God.
Ask against all that is complicating your life before God ceased.
Also, confusion forces against your answering His calling; be separated from it.
Pray the word of God that is in your heart, not just in your mouth.
Remember, the word of God does not return void without performing.
Pray the word of God to find God.

Prayer for today: Ask that God will give heed to your prayer.