FAITH CAPSULE: Looking back in the past instead of looking forward will derail man from getting to expected destination.

Genesis 19

In making decision, seeking God’s counsel is certain not to make a wrong decision. Man must give self to God’s counsel for right decision. Counsel from God is always nearer for man that will believe to approach and engage His counsel. Deuteronomy 30:14 testified that God is near, “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” Romans 10:8 buttressed, “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach)”” Making a wrong decision is the evidence of moving away from God’s direction. Making decision outside of God is despising the word of God. Proverbs 13:13 warned us, “He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” For man, it is lack of fear for God to despise God’s word to enter self-destruction.
Making decision outside of God is ignoring the word of God that is always near man. Also, deciding outside of God’s word can be the evidence of disobedience. Ignoring not to approach God and disobeying the word of God is the truth that evidence makes a destitute of a believer.
After God had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sinful nature of the land, He sent warning to Lot and his wife. “…Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17) Lot and wife believed God enough to move from destruction into deliverance. However, maintaining deliverance of God over Lot and wife demanded obedience not to make a wrong decision on their route of deliverance. Commanding word of God required from Lot and wife “not to look behind” but the wife of Lot looked back. Lot’s wife decided to despise the word of God. Decision against the word of God resulted to destruction. The Bible recorded, “But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)
Today, just like Lot and wife’s documentation of deliverance, many have received the grace of salvation but could not maintain the grace of salvation because of wrong decision. With salvation at hand, many are looking away from God to find a sudden and untimely self-termination. Whatever in the past which man cannot give away to give self to the word of God is set to terminate man from arriving God’s destination. Looking back in the past instead of looking forward will derail man from getting to expected destination.
This New Year, ask God for the grace to be taking counsel in the word of God to forgive and move forward. Avoid looking back to allow the open door ahead and not to experience shut door. Decision that is rooted in God’s word does not wrong.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of obedience to be established over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Over complication or frustration God is on the throne to perform good with perfection.

1 Samuel 15

Psalmist recorded, “The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits as King forever.” (Psalm 29:10) God is on His throne as King from the beginning to the end. God alone is in charge and capable to frustrate or terminate every storm of the wicked that is set to deny, derail or disrupt man’s step in the journey of life. Moses was born at appointed time and there was nothing the enemy could do to frustrate or disrupt Moses’ journey to the center of divine assignment. Joseph, the dreamer had no other route to get to the center of his divine assignment than the way of empty dry pit, slavery and prison.
Is your journey demonstrating complication or frustration? Regardless of unexpected challenges before you, God is on His throne to intervene at His appointed time. It is certain that when God calls you, God is set for you to sail through according to His plan.
The key for man not to become a victim of the wicked in journey to the center of divine assignment is identifiable in King Saul’s as it is written for our learning, “Because you have rejected the word of the lord, he also has rejected you from being king.” (1Samuel 15:23) At all time, do not reject the word of God! King Saul was a failure when he rejected the word of God. Disobeying the word of God is crucial, man must give self to the word of God continually, unfailingly.  
God remains at His throne to frustrate or terminate wicked agenda of man concerning His plan in the life of man. Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh made a law to be killing every male child born by the Israelites. The Bible documents it, “So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river…” (Exodus 1:22). When Moses was born, the mother hid him for three months, “But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.” (Exodus 2:3) Interestingly, Moses was supposed to be killed in the water according to Pharaoh. Interestingly, Moses was picked out of water by Pharaoh’s daughter and he was raised up in the palace of Pharaoh where the law was made to kill every male Hebrew child. God is consistent to preserve and direct man to the center of divine assignment.
The enemy will attempt to terminate your journey but let no anxious answers as poison. God performs and perfect in every challenging. Philippians 4:6 is encouraging, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Accept the word of God without doubt.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of strength to be focusing on His word obediently.

  FAITH CAPSULE: God will draw you near and you shall obtain and retain your desire from God.

Psalm 91

New Year is always with a new interesting twist. God is a gracious God; God is the unchanging changer. Gracious character of God is always waiting to act for man that waits on Him. Isaiah 30:18 buttressed, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore, He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.” We have a good caring perfect God. However, man should not undermine the evil one’s devices. The enemy is here seeking for whom to devour, he is the same but operates differently going after man’s ignorant. God does not overlook His children which seek Him, He will draw man near.
The New Year is always full of promises of God’s blessing. Blessings of God does to carry along sorrow. It is written, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22) Without doubt, blessings of God come with condition. Blessings of God can be exceedingly challenging. Also, the conditions of claiming God’s blessings demands obedience which can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Involving conditions of claiming His blessing cannot be compromised but demands commitment. In a New Year, with obedience to His command is certain to gain and obtain from gracious God. The word of God commanded, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” (Matthew 7:7-10) Seek God prayerfully and God will draw you near and you shall obtain and retain your desire from God.
This New Year, more than in the past, ask God for the grace for your increase strength on the altar of prayer. Pray with understanding, do not pray amiss but pray from the depth of your heart. God will draw you and you shall live to the glory of God through the New Year.
Just as God answers to prayer the need to work the works of God should not be compromised. The people asked Jesus what it means to work the works of God and Jesus responded with answer. John 6:28-29 documented “Then they said to Him, “What we shall do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” In this Year 2018, seek God by believing with prayer and God is certain to draw man near for deliverance and preservation.

Prayer for today: Ask God: wherever tens, hundreds or thousands are falling you and your love ones shall remain standing to the glory of God, in Jesus name.

FAITH CAPSULE: When God draws near man’s soul, man is set for deliverance.

Jeremiah 29

God is not a slave-master, but He is a saving God. God will not force man to draw near Him. However, God waiting for man to seek Him and He will draw man near. With knowing and understanding, man should continually ask God to draw man to Him. When God draws man near to Him, man is set to be in the presence of God. In the presence of God, peace of God is in place for man to obtain peace which surpasses all understanding. Man is to seek God to be drawn near to God. Moses sought God and the rest which is rooted in the peace of God was in position to be obtained by Moses. In Exodus 33:12, Moses sought God by asking, “…See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me…” Moses wanted to be drawn near to God by seeking from God. In response to Moses, God said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) Man cannot call on God to follow him it is God that calls man to follow Him. Obviously, God is in position to draw man near when man demonstrate desire to be draw near to God. Do you have desire to be drawn by God?
Jeremiah 29:11-14 recorded God’s care for man if man seek to be drawn near to God, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord…” God wants peace for man; He wants a hopeful future for man; He wants man’s attention by communicating with man; He wants man to seek Him constantly. God sent His son so that His entire plan for man shall be manifested. Will you take a position in your walk, seeking God to draw you near? Evidence of man’s walk before God will always provoke God to draw man near to God.
When God draws near man’s soul, man is set for deliverance. David’s urgent plea for help in time of trouble sought God stating, “Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.” (Psalm 69:18) Man extend so little to God’s investment to draw man near as it is evidently stated in John 3:16-17, “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.”  Confess consistently calling 2018 as Year of: Draw me near God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to gain position in God’s presence as year goes.

FAITH CAPSULE: CONFESS 2018 AS YOUR YEAR OF: DRAW ME NEAR GOD

Psalm 69

Man, with the privilege of God to see a Year 2018 should wisely be confessing Year 2018 stating: Draw Me Near God. Speak to the New Year and expect year to answer what you call it to be. Ask from God confessing to be drawn to God like David did in Psalm 69:16-18, “Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, and do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.” (Psalm 69:16-18)
Indeed, any man with desire to be drawn near to God must live life as one with expectation to become drawn near to God by striving to walk in the word of God.
Why do we need to be drawn to God more than as usual; more than as was in the past years?
World is becoming more unusually wicked and dangerous more than as it was in the past. The world of today’s situation demands to be hidden continuously in the hand of God. Believe it that, there is God but, where are you? Also, God is near but how far are you from God? God is waiting to draw man that desire to be drawn by God. Evidently, God is God that waits to act for those who wait on Him. (Isaiah 30:18)
Do not be deceived but make the decision confessing before God to draw you near. The wicked world is glaring. Wickedness is not hidden but hypocrisy of man is denying man from doing what is right to seek drawing near to God. Jesus pointed issue of hypocrisy stating, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2-3) Is it not true as Jesus stated? Acknowledge the world challenges and desire by confessing prayerfully to be drawn by God. To become drawn near to God is a certain unfailing way for man to gain and maintain the presence of God.
Confessing prayerfully to be drawn near to God also demands must-do such as:
Man must take to the spoken word of God through the bible. Jesus warned in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Any man that gives self to the spoken word of God will experience word of God which enters man’s life. Psalm 119:30 clarified, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” God is light (1John 1:5). One with light in self is drawn nearby God.
This year, walk in His word to be drawn by God deliverance and preservation.

Prayer for today: Ask God to draw you near this year 2018.