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.

FAITH CAPSULE: Persistence for God’s intervention is the evidence of faith.

1 Samuel 1

At the age of forty, Isaac took Rebekah as his wife. The bible recorded that at sixty years of age Isaac had his first child. Evidently, Isaac waited for twenty years before Rebekah’s barrenness ceased. Twenty years must have been long years for Isaac. However, Isaac was not quiet before God during the season of waiting. It is written, “Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Genesis 25:21) History and time of his father’s waiting was not enough to stop Isaac from asking and pleading with God. Have you been pleading to God for His intervention concerning any area of challenge in your life? Be encouraged and know that it is never too late to keep on pleading for God’s intervention.
The children of Israel spent over four hundred years in the bondage of Egypt before God sent Moses as His agent to deliver them. The bible recorded, “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.  So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” (Exodus 2:23-25) The time you think it is too late to receive your breakthrough is the time of God visitation if you will not stop crying to Him alone. Time and process of time belongs to God, do not pay attention to man-made clock. It is important that we remain persistent when praying to God for His divine intervention. Persistence for God’s intervention is the evidence of faith. To stop asking when expectation is yet to be manifested represents shutting down faith.
Hannah experienced mockery at the time of her barrenness. It is written, “Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” (1 Samuel 1:6-7) Despite Hannah’s experience of mockery from her rival, Hannah remained focus and her continuity waiting and trusting God dwindles not. Hannah did not stop praying to God and there was no record of her going against her rival. Hannah’s prayer yielded when she gave birth to Samuel. Be encouraged, ignore your mockers. In the coming day, week, month or year your mockery shall be converted to miracle in Jesus name. The God who granted Isaac’s plea will grant yours in Jesus name. The same God that acknowledged the crying of the Israelites will acknowledge your crying to favor you in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to remain focus on His gracious and merciful name.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be-living life and know God that your impossible challenge is a possibility with God.

Luke 9:10-17, John 2:1-11,

Once, Jesus was speaking to His disciples when He made them realized that impossibility with man is a possibility with God. (Matthew 19:26) This testifies to the truth that your all year challenge which seems impossible is a possibility with God. With God, nothing is absolutely nothing before God that is impossible for God to reverse for good. Absolutely there is no challenge which God cannot change to celebration. In life, no situation is too late for God to settle and establish for good. God alone reverses irreversible if man will trust and hope on God.
At a wedding in Cana of Galilee where Jesus was invited, mockery also showed to ridicule the wedding celebrants. Mockery was set to upset celebration when supply of wine suddenly ceased. At wedding celebration, running out wine suddenly dry out to convert celebration to mockery. Embarrassment set itself against the new couple, mockery set to take over the stage. Does that sound like you in any area of life? At the wedding of Cana of Galilee, the mother of Jesus spoke to Jesus (the living Word of God) as stated, “…They have no wine” (John 2:3) Jesus responded to his mother, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4) Jesus’ response was not discouraging enough for the mother to back out of her attempt to help through Jesus. Rather, she persevered knowing that there is nothing impossible to be turned around especially when obedience to God’s command is actively engaged. In John 2:5, the mother of Jesus said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” In life, know and give self to attention in the word of God. It is certain the word of God will speak direction to your situation. Jesus spoke direction and His word delivered better wine than earlier wine.
When God says nothing is impossible, no impossibility can remain as impossible before God. At the feeding of five thousand, the disciples resolved to sending away the multitude. Disciples was concerned because they were in a desert location and the hour was too late to meet needs for the multitude. Instead of sending away the multitude, Jesus requested that the multitudes should be fed from the five loaves and two fish. The request seemed impossible but there is direction in His commanding word. Jesus commanded disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty. And they did so and made them all sit down.” (Luke 9:14-15) Without doubt, obeying Word of God’s direction in full is what makes it impossible to be short of experiencing His miracle. It is advisable to be living life by obeying Word of God in full. It was obedience to the word of God that made it possible for the miracle of feeding multitude with five loaves and two fish abundantly. With God nothing is impossible.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to trust and hope in God’s word.