FAITH CAPSULE: Know God to have a stand before God.

1 Kings 18

For one that knows God there is nothing wrong to ask God today that all agents of confusion, delay, hindrances should be seized on your behalf just as Baal prophets were seized. Pray that today, they shall not escape the hand that will seize them, ask for them to be brought down just as the Baal prophets were brought down at the Brook of Kishon. Those agents that do not represent God in your life need to be permanently and eternally terminated so they will have no life to work against you anymore. Do not spare them, go ahead with your weapon (the word of God), invade them, raid them, disable them, unmake them; do not spare them. Pray a standing prayer, allow God to work on your behalf and victory is certain in Jesus name, amen.
One need to meditate and imagine the occurrence on Mount Carmel and Brook Kishon to answer for all that works against one.
On Mount Carmel, Elijah engaged four hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal in a power demonstration. In that encounter, Elijah asked the false prophets to call for their god to show with power. The god of the false prophets was a failure with no power demonstration of their god. When all attempts to call on Baal was exhausted, Elijah placed a call on God of gods, the only God that answers by fire. Without any delay, God answered Elijah and a consuming fire fell. By virtue of God’s showing, Ahab and his entourage saw the move of God in power demonstration. It is written, “Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”’ (1 Kings 18:39) Just like the people on Mount Carmel saw the move of God and declared, The Lord is God, have you seen enough of the move of God in your life to begin to declare the Lord is God? It was clarified between the God of Elijah and the prophets of Baal that the God of Elijah is the Lord God, and there is none to worship but Him. Know Him to call on Him just like Elijah.
Victory on Mount Carmel extended to Brook Kishon and so shall it be for ones that know God to ask from God. Elijah declared an open war against the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18:40, “And Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!’ So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.” One that know God should have a stand before God. What is your stand before God? Have you accepted Him as your only God, the Lord of lords, the eternal Creator, the One that was, that Is and that will always be? Knowing God is not knowing about God, knowing God is the reason for expectation from God that manifests on behalf of man.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to know Him more dearly.

 FAITH CAPSULE: Gain understanding of three doings which are certain to be blessed by God.

Psalm 1

Three doings that are certain to position man for the blessing of God are: Walk of man; Sitting position of man; Standing location of man. Identified three doings of man will demonstrate the faith of man as a believer of God. In life, walk of man will directly affect where or position man is found sitting and what a man is located to be standing for. The three doings of man will testify one’s believe in the living word of God. As an acclaimed true believer, where one is walking to and coming from must reflect the presence of God. As an acclaimed true believer of God, where or who one is sitting with must be an evidence of the fear of God. Also, as an acclaimed true believer, one must be standing for all that is right as commanded in the word of God. Truly, counsel in the word of God is crucial not to be positioned outside of God but to be positioned for the blessing of God. The word of God is perfect to perform the promise of God as it is written, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) Mark it, when a believer begins to seek counsel from an unbeliever it is an indication that something is not right with such believer.
The only way to redirect one’s walk before God is to continuously engage in the word of God by meditating the word of God.
The word admonished that there is delight in the law when meditating the word of God is in place in one’s life journey day and night. (Psalm 1:2) Life is a journey, who you surround yourself with will determine what you get out of life. One’s journey of life with meditating on the word of God is the determinant to deliver expected end of journey. Whose word do you believe in? Do you believe the word of God or man? The word of God is a sure counsel that leads one’s walking, sitting or standing for the glory of God. When the counsel of God (meditate the word of God day and night) begins to cause delight in the life of man, it becomes evident that the word of God is meaningful to one’s life.
Meditating on the word of God is the right track not to walk, sit or stand outside of God’s way. Think of it: Man is like a vehicle and meditating on the word of God day and night can be compared to a steering. Without steering, stagnation is certain and transportation becomes terminated. Definitely, where there is no transportation transformation is set to cease. Be encouraged to be certainly blessed by walking, sitting and standing in the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to constantly walk, in line of God’s word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Give yourself to the word of God as a sacrifice.

Numbers 32

Word of God is certain and consistent to deliver when it is constantly engaged. Joshua is an evidence of giving self to the word of God constantly. After Moses, God commanded Joshua to constantly engage the word. Joshua 1:8 recorded, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” God’s word pointed out to Joshua the importance of meditating on the word as the way for Joshua to be successful in his divine assignment. With constant meditation word is set to impact one’s life and the spirit of faith shall be established. With spirit of faith, following the Lord God wholly shall become one’s identity in the walk of life.
The importance of engaging the word of God constantly as God laid it down for Joshua, Paul the apostle also bolstered the importance of engaging the word of God in 1Timothy 4:15, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” Paul’s command about meditation testifies to the importance of meditation. Meditation is a labor which requires spending day and night, giving oneself to word as a sacrifice. Meditation is labor and labor is a sacrifice. A believer which constantly meditate on the word of God day and night is set to reap from the promising blessings of meditation.
Obviously, constantly meditating the word of God will identify one to wholly follow God. To wholly follow God is also a key to be prosperous and to have good success working the works of God. Such prosperous and good success is to become established getting to expected journey of life God’s promise. (the Promised Land)
Joshua was an example of one with meditating the word of God and was identified with good success to arrive expected end in his life journey. Numbers32:11-12 recorded “Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, expect Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’” Following God wholly is demonstrating the spirit of faith which Caleb and Joshua did. Does it occur to you the importance of constant meditation over the word of God?
Written word of God is for our profit. 2Timothy 3:16 encouraged, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” As it was profitable to the men of God in the Bible days, so it is profitable to any that makes the choice of meditating on the word of God constantly.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be meditating the word of God day and night.

FAITH CAPSULE: God’s doing is meaningless to the mind of man because man is mindful of world.

Psalm 8, Ecclesiastes 8

Out of curiosity, the Psalmist questioned before God, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:4-5) Through Genesis to Revelation, it is clearly evident that God is mindful of man. God is so mindful of man when He gave His best to man as it is written, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”” (John 3:16-18) God is so mindful of man to give avenue of salvation for man. God sent His only begotten son for man to be-living in Him and not perish but have everlasting life.
Truly, man of wicked world is not giving self to salvation to avoid God’s judgement which is certain to at God’s appointed time. God gave His begotten Son as an evidence of God’s mindful for man. However, God’s doing is meaningless to the mind of man because man is mindful of world.
Imagine the story of man with offence of murder but on the verge of escaping prosecution. The young man was set to be free of his crime of murder which was certain when sickness came on him as signature of death written over him and no sign of recovery. The young man not wanting to die of his sickness without confessing to his murder, went further to confess as one that committed murder. It was right after confession that the sickness became far and signs of death was distanced from the offender murderer. As a result, he was sentenced to life time in the prison. The story of the young murderer is an evidence of not knowing that God is too great to be undermined. Just like the young murder story above, man under heaven is miscalculating God’s sentence against evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 recorded warning not to be thinking of escaping from doing wicked, “…Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11-13) It is important to give self to the fear of God, be-living in Him not to perish but have everlasting life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to be-living in His word and not perish at the time of judgement.

FAITH CAPSULE:  Are you fighting a battle yet looking to human wisdom to sustain you?

 Judges 7

Jerubbaal (Gideon) was set for war against the Midianites when God spoke to him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7:1-3) In the physical, there is a need for strong numeric strength to emerge victorious in battle. However, God’s instruction to Jerubbaal was to reduce number of his army. Jerubbaal gave self to God’s instruction  and number was reduced to more than half, from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand.
The God of battle who does not share His glory with man called on Jerubbaal after he had cut down the number of his army saying, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…” (Judges 7:4) Imagine Jerubbaal communicating with friends about how God has been reducing the number, without doubt friends would have wondered and even considered Jerubbaal as foolish, spiritually insane, overzealous and unrealistic. Jerubbaal led the people to the water as directed by God with the intention to have the number reduced again. At the water, God spoke again, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.”  And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.” (Judges 7: 5-6). In going against the Midianites, one that considers assigning men that lapped from water over ones that got on their knees to drink water would have been considered foolish.
At all times, regardless of how foolish it sounds, God’s preference should always prevail over our best reference. The number of men to go to battle against the Midianites was eventually cut down to three hundred men from thirty-two thousand; this is foolishness by human reasoning. To man, it is suicidal to go to war after ending up with such a small number. Thirty thousand seems to be the right way and not the foolish way. Always remember the word of Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” Jerubbaal did not take the path that seems right, he simply obeyed God’s word without complain nor doubt and went with three hundred. Are you fighting a battle yet looking to human wisdom to sustain you? It does not matter how tough challenges present itself, focusing on God is enough to be victorious.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be constantly obedient to God’s word.