FAITH CAPSULE: God alone is Jehovah Sharma that answers to His Name.

Jeremiah 52

It is written, “Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.” (Jeremiah 52:31) God used Evil-Merodach, the king of Babylon and son of Nebuchadnezzar, to lift the head of Jehoiachin. Regardless of circumstances behind man’s captivity God alone, at His appointed time will raise man out of captivity. God will use anyone to lift man out of every challenge that is keeping man’s head down. God alone is more than able to change man’s story from prisoner in the hand of persecutor to be presiding over persecutors. Evil-Merodach was in the hand of God to lift the head of Jehoiachin out of captivity. It is certain that when God remembers, He also rescues.
It is written for our learning, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1) God turned the heart of Evil-Merodach to rescue Jehoiachin.  God also made Evil-Merodach to change the garment of Jehoiachin from garment of prisoner to the garment that is fit to be eating regularly before the king all the days of his life. God is true to perform, and He performs to perfection.
There is nothing which God is incapable of doing and His capability has no measure.
In your captivity challenges, are you praying but not watching? Jesus in His word repeatedly warned to watch and pray just to pray alone. Watch and pray demands waiting patiently before God. To watch and pray demands trust and hope but not only trust. Jeremiah 17:7 buttressed, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” In captivity challenge, keep watching and praying by waiting patiently; by trusting and hoping for God’s divine intervention. God hears, He is a prayer-answering God. God is a gracious God, know it and make it a note in your heart, get the understanding of God’s character as described in Isaiah 64:4, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” God is true to His word, He performs to perfect! Believe and behave by knowing that God will convert man’s challenge to a glorious change. Stand in faith so that faithful God will show on your behalf. With faith God is pleased, without faith God is not pleased. Take note in His word, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7) Jehoiachin had been in captivity for thirty-seven years when enemy, the Evil-Merodach king of Babylon had enough peace to bring prison captivity to an end in the life of Jehoiachin.
With faith, God is more than able to see you through. God alone is Jehovah Sharma that answers to His Name.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His divine intervention over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Engage living life according to the word of God.

John 10

It is worthy to ask self, what have I done for Jesus lately? That is… “What have you been giving back to Jesus”? Do you not think you owe Jesus?
The main reason why Jesus was given to us is for us to inherit eternal life.
Every step taken to inherit eternal life is exactly what we are doing or giving back to Jesus. Every acclaimed believer should walk in His righteousness by walking obediently in His word as giving back to Jesus.
In life, giving is sowing, sowing is serving. What are you giving…how are you serving Him? When there is no understanding to be giving self is better than having understood to be giving self and not be giving self.
It is true that what a man sows he will surely reap. God is a perfect Manager and He perfects in managing each of His creation by virtue of allowing His creation to reap from what they sow. In life, it is impossible to sow the seed of deception and expect to reap the fruit of perfection.
Any man who sows the seed of lie will reap the fruit of being deceived. It is worthy to live life as one who knows Him and anything short of living life as one who knows Him is living life as a liar. It is written, “He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.  He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1John2:4-6)
God invests so much in us while we extend so little to Him. Nothing passes outside of God, He sees all and man shall reap from whatever man sows. What kind of seeds are you sowing? When it is reaping time, prayer time might have expired and too late to avoid the consequences of failure to sow. It is written, “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. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11) Celebrating the season of events in the life of Jesus is not an evidence of sowing any good which glorifies God for all He has done. However, living life to the glory of God is what provokes the hand of God in the life of a believer. Engage living life according to the word of God to provoke the blessings of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to give self to the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Answering to God’s calling is serving God.

Genesis 37

It is written, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Just as God said to Israelites so His word speaks today to all His creation. Serving God is like journeying through the narrow gate which Jesus talked about stating, “Matthew 7:13-14 recorded, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Answering to God’s calling is serving God. For man to serve God will come with challenging difficulties, but God is certain to back man that answers diligently to His calling. God’s calling will break man that answers at the initial stage, but blessing will surely answer for man that answers obediently. The ones He breaks are meant to be blessed. His breaking comes along with blessing. (Jesus broke and blessed the bread of life) God will never leave man broken if man answers His calling faithfully. Book of 1Thessalonian 5:24 recorded promise in place for man that answers God’s calling, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” When God calls there be no prior arrangement or there be no announcement before God’s calling. In God’s calling, breaking comes before blessing. God called Joseph and he was broken before he was blessed.
Joseph was answering to the calling upon his life without knowing the challenges ahead. At age 17, Joseph was answering to Jacob’s (his father) errand when he entered the path to God’s calling upon his life. Jacob spoke to Joseph, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.” (Genesis 37:14) From the moment Joseph went answering to Jacob’s errand he wandered into the journey of his life without prior preparation or idea of what he was getting into.
The book of Psalm 105:17-22 shed light on the truth that Joseph’s journey was an answer to God’s plan and purpose without his knowing. Joseph had no preparation that takes him into his journey. It is written, “He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom.”
God is awesome by the operation of His hand. Knowingly or unknowingly, have you been called by God? Your calling shall come, and God shall back you up.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to remain focus on the calling of your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Give as prompted by God’s Spirit and not give by man’s evil devises to steal from you.

Genesis 4

The Bible talked about offering by faith using the story of Abel as an example when it stated that, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…” (Hebrews 11:4) Giving offering without faith is giving with fear or giving in fear. Fear is what displeases God. Offering that is given in fear is without expectation for manifestation of worthy reward from God. When Abel and Cain gave offering to God, Abel’s offering gained worthy attention from God while Cain’s offering did not gain attention from God. In Abel and Cain’s offering bible recorded, “…Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering.” (Genesis 4:3-5) Indeed, Abel and Cain brought what they had to God as an offering, but Abel brought everything that was added (Fat) to his offering. Abel separated nothing from what he brought by giving his best offering before God. Abel’s offering before God was his very first best which could not be termed as “just an offering.” Give respectfully before God as God will respect your offering. Giving offering to God or giving in God’s name demands giving without fear or with no holding back as prompted to give.
When a stranger (Elijah) approached the widow of Zarephath, he did not only ask for water but also asked for bread (a fat offering request). The widow was living in a land where drought had been on for years with not knowing how long drought would continue. Also, she had no knowledge about who Elijah was. The woman only had enough for herself and her son when Elijah’s request came to her in the name of God. The woman responded with fear and that prompted Elijah to respond, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.” (1Kings 17:13-15) Fear is what Elijah required the women to disallow because fear was going to deny her from giving to God. With no fear, engage offering as a priority before God to get God’s attention.
When promoted by the Spirit of God to give instead of being prompted to give by man’s devises is certain to deliver God’s visitation. With knowledge and understanding, give offering with priority. Zarephath’s priority of giving offering in the name of God delivered uncommon blessing of God in her.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that eliminates fear in time of your giving.

FAITH CAPSULE: With faith, understand God’s work.

Hebrews 11

God spoke, and all were created! At the time of creation, not a single contactor was contracted by God. God has been before creation and will be for eternal. Understanding God’s Work is by Faith:
“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews11:3) It takes only faith to understand and believe that God spoke, and all was created. One will wonder where the understanding comes from. Jesus pointed it out when He asked a rhetorical question about the reason for lack of understanding. “Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (John 8:43) Without doubt, the understanding that is needed to believe that the world is framed by the word of God is in listening to the word of God. We cannot hear God and doubt Him. If indeed one can listen enough and understand the word of God, then faith will be established.
The book of Hebrews 11:1 described faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Having faith is what pleases God. No one came to this world with, faith it comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Having faith is crucial to living a fulfilled life. Faith is the key to obtaining good testimony. A good testimony is God’s testimony. Also, gaining understand of God’s word is encased in faith. Faith is not just a thing of mouth but an action that is based on hoping and trusting God. Many claims to have faith but few live by faith. The bible mentioned that by faith elders obtained good testimony and understand God’s work.
Obtaining Good Testimony is by Faith:
The Bible states, “For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrews 11:2) Without doubt, what is good is God and that which is God is good. There are testimonies but there is a good testimony. Any testimony that is rooted in God stays forever and it is often undeniable. Good testimony is always full of faith and fake-proof. Testimonies about the life of Abraham, David, Daniel and many more giants in the hand of God are good life testimonies that cannot be denied. The story of their lives and exploits that were generated through them are evidence of their walk-in faith that marked them as good testimonies. Wherever faith is in place God will attend and good testimony becomes a mark in the believer’s life.
The Psalmist also points out the source of understanding as recorded in, Psalm 49:3 “…the meditation of my heart shall give understanding”  The word you receive and meditate on in the morning, afternoon and night will no doubt build up faith that the worlds were framed by the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s grace to be giving self in the word of.