Faithful Capsule: It is good to be comfortable but not to substitute God’s promise.

Numbers 32

Giving self to world’s comfort over giving self for commitment to God will deny or derail man from God’s plan. In the journey of life, desire for living comfortable is encased in commitment to God. However, when man make the choice of world comfort ahead of commitment to God’s direction in the journey of life, one is set not to arrive at the center of God’s divine agenda. God, in His goodness and mercy brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of over four hundred years with plan to settle them in the Promised Land. It is written, “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8) God wanted to place the Israelites from bondage to abundance when He promised them a land which flows with milk and honey. In the place of giving self to commitment of God’s promise, the children of Gad and of Reuben turned to comfort at the East of Jordan. The children of Gad and of Reuben had a very great multitude of livestock and that prompted a request for a settlement in the East of Jordan which was a place for livestock, a place limited to milk not milk and honey as promised by God.
Children of Gad and of Reuben’s lack of understanding of God’s plan prompted choice to wander from the way of God’s promise for land that flows with milk and honey. Are you attempting to wander from the way of understanding gained from the word of God? Proverbs 21:16 admonished, “A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.”
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben approached Moses and stated their desire, “…the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel,is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.’ Therefore they said, ‘If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.’” (Numbers 32:4-5) It is clear that where there is livestock milk will flow, but not honey. God promised a land flowing with milk and honey, but the children of Gad and of Reuben attempted to settle for their own comfort land. The land which flowed with milk was a comfortable choice over milk and honey. It is good to be comfortable but not at the expense of God’s command which demands our commitment. Placing our comfort above God’s command is a direct avenue to becoming insensitive to the move of the Spirit of God. Spiritual insensitivity will reduce and not increase a believer. Are you operating the mind of the children of Gad and Reuben as you engage your journey to the Promised Land? Disallow comfort from clouding your commitment to God’s command.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from lack of understanding commitment to God’s promise for your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: what are you giving back to God?

Genesis 22

God the perfect creator is a true giver. King David’s testimony of God as a true giver stated, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4) By virtue of David testimony, evidently, God loves us. In God’s love is God’s giving to man. God gave us is beloved One for our salvation stating, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17) In other places, Jesus, the beloved is identified as the gift of God. Romans 5:18, recorded, “…even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” Jesus is the indescribable gift of God to man.
To God the good giver, what are you giving back to God?
What is it that you are set to get rid but turn to as gift for God? It can be a wrong gift! God deserves our best as gift and giving self to God for His glory is a worthy gift. Think of it, can a door be opened with a finger? When a man is giving gift to God with one finger instead of a whole hand (whole heart) the chances to an open door is limited. Giving gift to God with a finger is like giving without the whole heart. God is the giver of all and He alone can take all away. It is more than worthy to always give back to God with all heart. Man must understand and know to always give to God in His name and not in any man’s name.  Are you giving back to God by mouth or giving to Him by Heart? Answer to the question will no doubt determine believer’s journey on earth. Abraham’s gave to God with his whole heart which is the evidence of his love for God.
God called Abraham to deliver a sacrificial offering, “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.” (Genesis 22:1-2) Without hesitation, Abraham delivered his offering to God. Abraham’s obedience allowed Abraham to have an open door of communication from above.
Offering delivered gift without hesitation is the evidence of cheerful giving to God.
In all your giving, give back to God cheerfully.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of giving cheerfully in all of your giving.

FAITH CAPSULE: When God remembers, He also rescues.

Psalm 34

God alone but not man is in position to deliver man in all challenges. Regardless of world challenges or affliction it is worthy to give self to trust and hope in God. Psalm 34:19 encouraged, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Indeed, with trust and hope in God, captivity will not captivate man. Jehoiachin had been in captivity for thirty-seven years when God raised his head and brought him out of captivity. “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 up the head of Jehoiachin. It is man that God will empower to carry out His deliverance agenda in man’s challenges. Evil-Merodach was in the hand of God to lift the head of Jehoiachin. When God remembers, He also rescues. Having used Evil-Merodach to rescue Jehoiachin, God in His awesome power changed the garment of Jehoiachin from garment of prison to garment of God’s preserved. From being fed with prison food he began to be eating regularly before the king all days of his life. God is true to perform and He performs to perfect.
There is nothing which God is incapable of doing and His capability has no measure. It is the same God that visited Daniel in the den of hungry lions. The same God delivered Peter from the sudden death of Herod. God’s divine intervention broke the chain of prison over the life of Paul and Silas. Are you waiting on God by praying with understand? Concerning your challenge, it is not time to stop waiting on God prayerfully. God is a prayer-answering God. With understanding, know and make it a note in your heart that the One and only capable God brought out the Israelites out of the bondage of over four hundred years is more than able to silent your challenges. God is perfect to perform miracle in the place of mockery.
There is none like God, He makes a way where there is no way and He alone reverse the irreversible. God’s name is not share-able by any god. Hallow Him, adore Him as the King of kings; the Lord of lords. King David testified, “The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits as King forever.” (Psalm 29:10)
Prayer for today: Ask God for His divine intervention in all areas of challenges.

FAITH CAPSULE: Evil can delay man but cannot deny God’s creation.

Genesis 31

God is the Almighty Creator. God alone is the perfect creator. God created man to call man for His purpose. Man must know to live life as one that is called by God. However, God is not a slave master but a saving master and that is the reason why man must live life for God. Know it that man will get to God’s calling divine center regardless of evil agenda to deny man. Evil can delay man but cannot deny man. Today, man should know God for His promise that, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1Thesalonia 5:24)
All power belongs unto God and there is no other that is capable of hurting any God’s divine assignment in man’s life. It was God that called Jacob to return and Laban was not in position nor possess any power that was capable to deny God. Laban was not in God’s position as a result he was powerless.
God created man to live for God’s glory but not to live for evil’s glory. Jacob lived life for God as God’s own creation.  Jacob made the choice not to inform nor bid farewell to Laban the Syrian when God called him to return. It is written, “Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”” (Genesis 31:3) Evidently, God called for Jacob’s return but then, the relationship between both Jacob and Laban was no longer favorable. After Jacob had left, Laban went after him with bad intentions because Rachel stole Laban’s household idol. With all his bad intentions, God appeared to him in a dream and cautioned him to be careful in his dealing with Jacob. As a result, when he caught up with Jacob, he stated, “It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’” (Genesis 31:29)
Concerning your life, evil minded man is powerless but God is powerful. Have you been called out by God? Is your move in response to the calling of God? Do not move on your own understanding. In every calling of God, let your move be based on trust and hope in the Lord with all your heart; avoid leaning on your own understanding; be conscious of His presence; let no wrong assumption take charge of your ways and know it that God will permit no man to deny God’s agenda over your life. God is not a man that He should falter because He is faithfully capable to accomplish His word.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to live life for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: See in the wonders of God in the word of God and you will do exploit to God’s glory.

Numbers 14

Are you counting or are you complaining? Counting blessings is praising Him for what He has done to provoke more of His doing. Complaining will complicate man’s journey.  Regardless of what your challenges are, it is important to see it in the word of God that the Lord is more than able to see you through. Power belong to God; the word of God is power of wonder. Psalm 114:8 buttressed, “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.” Begin to see it that the One who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters is more than able to turn around your story above and beyond your expectation. See it that God does not slumber nor sleep but He is awake and mindful of you in your challenging situation. It is important to know for sure that complaining does not settle well before God. Complaining is sin and God will not overlook sin. God did not overlook the complaint of the children of Israel against Him. Assuredly, your complaint against God shall get His attention. The Israelites complaint turned the journey of eleven days to the journey of forty years. The Israelites complaint caused them to wander in the   wilderness when they supposed to be a wonder to their world.
If you will see the wonders of God in the word of God you will do exploit to God’s glory. The time of the year is not evidence that God’s visitation for your breakthrough has expired. Are you or are you beginning to be complaining in any way you have engaged in your journey of life? The Israelites took to the way of wilderness which supposed to be a passage for passing through but they ended up living their life in the wilderness. The complaining of the generation that came out of Egypt caused them to live, to wandered and died in their wilderness journey. Have you seen any of His acts in your life? The book of Numbers 14:22-23 documented, “Because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.” It is worthy to stop complaint and start counting God’s blessing by identifying each of His blessings. See what God has done and it will enable you to see through and know that God is a wonder working God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from engaging complaint before God.