FAITH CAPSULE: Attention is the antidote of jealous of our jealous God.

2 Samuel 22

God is a jealous God. Exodus 20:5 recorded the word of God, “…For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” Attention is the antidote of our jealous God. Praising and thanking God is giving attention to God. Praising God and thanking God is calling on God. Calling on God demands understanding. Understanding is knowing God while knowing about God is the evidence of lack of understanding. It is written, “For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” If praising demands understanding to get God’s attention, giving thanks; calling on God and every way to serve God also demands understanding.
Do you understand to expect with manifestation from God?
It is understanding to know God when calling on God with persistent in waiting for His response with manifestation. Persistently waiting on God by not weary, by not worrying in the place of waiting on God is the evidence of faith. With faith, jealous God is pleased and without faith God is not pleased. (Hebrews 11:6) To be persistent in waiting on God is to know and not lose heart before God. In the Parable of The Persistent Widow, Jesus spoke a parable that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. (Luke18:1-8) God does not go by our own timing but by His appointed time. It is certain to get answer when we call and wait on jealous God. Isaiah 64:4 testified to unfailing God, a jealous God that perfect to perform stating, “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.” Call on Him in the day or in the night He is never too busy to ignore your calling. However, if you are too busy outside of waiting on jealous God you should expect to miss the visitation of your jealous’ God for His manifestation.
God is worthy of our praise and our thanks giving. He is the Creator and there is none like Him.
David attested, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (2 Samuel 22:4) David was not entertaining with words but he was gaining entrance into the court of God. David was gaining entrance into the presence of God through praise because it is praise that grants access into His court. It is written, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) Thanksgiving is the route to jealous God’s gate while praise will place man into jealous God’s court. David wanted to get to the court when He declared praise worship for His salvation from his enemies. Praise that is driven by joy (not just mouthful praise) from the depth of heart will get man to His (court) presence.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of understanding to be giving attention to God.

FAITH CAPSULE: In your journey, deny fear to engage faith.

Matthew 14:22-33

Fear is not a respecter of nobody and it will strike a believer or non-believer without warning. Man’s title or position does not keep nobody from the strike of fear. Disciples of Jesus were on a late hour of the day and in the middle of journey on the sea when storm took charge. Storm tossed Jesus’s disciple’s vessel around by wave while fear took charge over the life of disciples. Jesus showed up to rescue them. It is written, “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.” (Matthew 14:25-26) By fear, Peter must have requested for deliverance when he asked Jesus to command him to walk on the water. Jesus responded to Peter’s request by commanding him to come. The Bible recorded, “…and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ (Matthew 14:29-30) Peter, in his obedience to walk a difficult walk (walking on water) made him to take his eyes away from Jesus as he gave his attention to the troubling storm and fear took charge while faith was discharged.
Let the word of God answer for you as a driver of your vessel of journey.  Philippians 4:6-7 admonished us, “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.” Anxiousness or anxiety are same bud of fear. Are you living life in anxiousness or in the abundance of God’s word?
Anticipation of the possibility that something hostile will happen is a way of describing fear. Fear is a deadly weapon of the devil. Fear does not discriminate, and it will strike regardless of man’s title or age. Fear will always take the center stage in man’s life when faith is off the stage. Knowing the devil as a deceptive one, fear often sneaks into man by the way of concern or anxiety.
The Bible warned, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) David testified, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) David did not run where he needed to walk because he knew his God. Those who know their God operates with understand that the word and the hand of God is failure impossibility over their life. Do you know your God to trust Him not to run where you are to walk?

Prayer for today: Ask God for the boldness and character of God to established in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be encouraged to engage Him for His healing touch.

Luke 18:1-30

Be encouraged to engage Him for your miracle because He cares. God is the same yesterday and forever. He has never changed and that is why He alone is the unchanging changer. Deuteronomy 10:17 described God, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. God is not a partial God but He is persistent in His caring for those who care to wait on Him.” Indeed, it is how much you know Him (not how much you know about Him) that will determine how much you seek Him for His visitation in any area your life for His answer.
Unquestionably, God alone is God that visits man because He is mindful of man. Have you stopped calling on Him when it seems your answer is being delayed? Jesus encouraged us to be persistent when waiting for God’s answer. In Jesus’ Parable of the persistent widow answer located the widow woman. (Luke 18) In times of need from God, to stop praying without answer at from God is the evidence of a shutdown faith.
Do not stop asking. God does not fail, God alone sees all and hears all at the same time. If you will be persistent in looking up with hope answer shall come for you. God will not look away from you. He will touch you just as He touched the leper that went to Him as stated in Matthew 8:2-3, “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Look up to Him in your heart knowing fully that God is a gracious God and will answer at His appointed time. In the same chapter, it is written that through touching, Peter’s mother-in-law was free from the sickness of fever. Matthew 8:14-15, “Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.” The word of God encourages us to put Him in remembrance (Isaiah 43:26). Today, look up to Him and remind Him concerning the miracle that is in His touching. It is encouraging to trust Him for His deliverance and healing. God is still visiting and caring for His children. It is not enough to know about God but to know Him and be encouraged to engage Him for His healing touch. God is a faithful God to perform and perfect.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to be a failure to wait persistently.

FAITH CAPSULE: Seeing in the word of God is to receive victory in the face of challenge.

Joshua 6

It is written, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) God sent His word for declaration to decorate man with healing and deliverance for any man that will see to receive in His word. One that claims the word of God for deliverance is the one which the word enters. The word must enter to be manifested. Psalm 119:130 declared, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” When there is understand for the one with the word of God there will be a knowing edge in the face of challenges. Without doubt, just a word which enters a man is enough to terminate a life struggle or make a way for the receiver of the word of God.
God promised the Israelites to take them to the Promised Land but at a point in time of the journey the enemy stood against the Israelites. Open passage was shut by the enemy. The Israelites needed to hear the word of God as direction to have opened door for passage to the Promised Land. It is written, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.  And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:1-2) Without doubt or questioning, by faith, Joshua saw to receive the word of God which granted Israelites a passage. Until one begins to see in the word it becomes impossible to receive the promise of God. The word of God for man must be received with understanding to have a knowing edge over challenge.
God spoke to Jeremiah and he needed to see in the spoken word of God to answer for God in his life. It is written, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant. Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree. Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” (Jeremiah 1:10-12) God wanted to perform in the life of Jeremiah for His glory but Jeremiah must be able to see in the word of God. Jeremiah saw and live for the glory of God. It is faith that will make man to identify in the word of God for deliverance and preservation. Faith is the key to go further and not falter regardless of any challenging situation. Seeing in the word of God is to receive victory in the face of challenge.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be seeing in His word which terminates life struggle.

FAITH CAPSULE: Lifting eyes to God is asking from God.

Genesis 22

Lifting eyes to God is asking from God. Lifting eyes to God is the evidence of faith. Man, with faith will please God. If faith is the way to please God then, without faith will displease God. Hebrews 11:6 buttressed, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6) Psalmist was asking from God when he lifted his eyes stating, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?” (Psalm 121:1) Where or who have you been lifting your eyes to? In this wicked time, there is every reason, every moment to be lifting eyes to God asking for direction. Getting direction from God is certain to arrive at destination and not become a victim of evil agenda of this wicked world. Lifting eyes to God is to move in direction of divine assignment of God.
Abraham was asking from God by lifting eyes to God. He lifted his eyes when direction was needed and when there was a need of support from above.
Indeed, it is an act of faith to know that lifting eyes to God will enable one not to miss blessing of God. For Abraham, it can be assumed that he walked past ram that was in place for the sacrifice as stated in Genesis 22:13, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.” Abraham walked past a ram in place which is available for his burnt offering instead of his son Abraham for burnt offering.
When a believer is lifting eyes up to God, there will be no reason to expect help from another source. Lifting eyes to God is demonstrating the love, the fear of God. In the journey of life who are you looking up to? From the depth of your heart, allow God to be the only God to look up to. Abraham’s love for means his fear for God. Abraham served God with all his heart with all is soul. God asked for Abraham’s son, his only son, his love for burnt offering. Abraham could not withhold his son from God’s request. As Abraham was about to use his son Isaac for burnt offering to God, he heard from God stating, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12)   but   God discerns the heart; He knows you and your heart because your heart is in His hands. It is written, “… For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.” (1Samuel 2:3)
In the journey of this wicked world, make it your way of life to be lifting eyes to God, asking for direction. Abraham had uncommon testimonies because he walked with God for His direction.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of giving self to lifting eyes for God’s direction.