FAITH CAPSULE: Doing what is good wrongly in the name of God is an error.

2 Samuel 6

Pleasing self in serving God is nothing but an error. A believer that is serving God should not please self but should please God. Are you one that pleases self in serving God? Lying and deception are rooted in pride. Pride before God can be a way of pleasing self but not God.
Seriously, consider your way of serving God and not be a victim of error in serving God. For example, self-impressive testimonies in the name of God will be an error which will be counted as sin before God. Romans 3:7-8 stated, “For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”? —as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.’” There is no compromising in serving God but to be truly committed in serving right. A true believer should avoid doing right in a wrong way. God must be served right in a right way to get a right manifestation from God. Avoid error serving God.
Error is a deviation from accuracy as in mistake, as in action or speech. Error is the condition of believing what is not true. Error is a moral offense; wrongdoing; sin. It is an error to violate the word of God and it can be a conscious or unconscious error before God. Error is despising the word of God. The bible makes us to realize it that, “He who despises the word will be destroyed…” (Proverbs 13:13)
Have you in any way violated or currently violating the word of God? Before God, there is no excuse for error.
Before God, Adam and Eve committed error by believing the serpent enough to eat against God’s command in the Garden of Eden. They both violated the word of God by their error (a wrongdoing).
When God showed up, Adam and Eve attempted to justify their action before God stating, “Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13) Their excuses were not enough as they were judged by God. Sinful error committed by Adam and Eve eposes man to numerous pains today.
Doing what is right in a wrong way before God is a sin before God to separate man from God.
Despising the word of God will separate man from God into self-destruction.

Prayer point: Ask God for the grace of God to keep you away from conscious or unconscious error before God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Where is your position in the promising word of God?

Deuteronomy 1

A mountain top is the place of target to see through the journey ahead in the center of divine’s assignment. Every journey to a mountain top should give a mindset not to settle for mountain bottom. Mountain bottom is a possible place of comfort. The disadvantage of mountain bottom is to take away the sight of potential breakthrough to the mountain top which is the arrival to the center of man’s divine assignment.
The Israelites experienced the comfort of mountain bottom in their journey to God’s promised land. God called them out of the bottom mountain as recorded in Deuteronomy 1:6-7, “The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.” It is possible for man to engage comfort and not continue in the journey to possess fully. Are you dwelling in the choice of place instead of God’s assigned ground for you?
At the time of God’s calling of the Israelites out of the mountain bottom was for the Israelites attention stating, “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land…” (Deuteronomy 1:8) Possessing what is yet at hand demands faith to see in the place of nothing. God’s promises in His word are not visible in the physical until man begins to see in the word of God as true. From today, begin to see in the word of God to know that possibility is certain in the place of impossibility. The word of God has never fail to deliver but only perform perfection. Above all, His word does not return to Him void except man becomes voided in rising and engaging what He has promised to do.
In the journey of life, coming out of mountain bottom without able to see in the word of God is the evidence of fear to fail. Give no room for fear and discouragement. Moses warned about fear and discouragement while emphasizing to the Israelites the need to see in the promise word of God, “Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 1:21) Fear is the opposite of faith. With discouragement in fear, no man can see and possess in the promise of God.
Where is your position in the promising word of God? Are you allowing fear and discouragement to take over the driver seat of your journey from the mountain bottom to the mountain top? God is forever faithful with His promises in His word.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to rise for the glory God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Going far from Him will expose man to every trouble of this world.

Luke 15

How far are you from God? A parable is an everyday truth that has spiritual application. It is an earthly truth with a heavenly meaning. Jesus spoke many times using parables. He gave a parable of the lost son. This parable clearly connotes the mind of God concerning repentance and restoration of man from sin. Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.” (Luke 15:11-14)
Jesus is the indescribable gift of God for man (2 Corinthians 9:5). Will you receive Him as God’s gift? Having received Jesus the gift of God, will you embrace Him by retaining Him to maintain Him and not be a waste? Jesus went to the cross and shed His blood for our possession as one that is restored living for the glory of God. In the parable, the younger son had his possessions and went far from his father. Today, man cannot afford to have Jesus and go far from the presence of God in this wicked world. Going far is man’s choice to go on his way that seems right. Proverbs 14:12 enlightened about man’s way that seems right, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Going far from Him will lead to a debased extravagant life which is a wasted life. A wasted life will always provoke a life of “want” and “relegation” from what God wants us to be. Going far from Him will expose man to every trouble of this world.
How are you living life? Are you living in the fear of God? Have you gone far from Him like the prodigal son? The prodigal son went far from his father but realized the need to return to his father before his self-destruction. It is written, “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’” (Luke 15:17-19) It is time to come back to yourself just like the prodigal son came back to himself. Man can never be too late to return to God when there is a need for restoration and be walking near to God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace goodness and mercy of God to keep you near to Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Heart is the proven target for Satan to deny man’s arrival at divine assignment.

Luke 22:1-23

How are you keeping your heart? Heart is crucial for man’s arrival to divine assignment. In this wicked world, Proverbs 4:23 is a warning for all man with the desire to arrive at divine assignment. It is written, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
The only proven target for the Satan to strike is the heart for denying man’s journey to expected end. Ananias and Sapphira’s heart was caught up by the Satan. Ananias and his wife Sapphira were not forced to voluntarily sell their possession to buttress the fellowship of others, but they came up lying about the proceedings. Acts 5:3 recorded “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep part of the price of the land for yourself? Sudden death was the result of Ananias and Sapphira when their heart became a place for Satan’s hibernation.
Regardless of how long man is sleeping in the church by claiming to be seeking God will not stop stubborn Satan’s agenda for the heart of man. For man, there is a need to be keeping heart with all diligence.
Judas and Peter went beyond ones that are church goer but walked with Jesus in all their steps but their hearts were accessible to the Satan.
Judas spent time with Jesus. Despite Judas’ experience with Christ, his heart was not diligent enough deny Satan’s access. The book of Luke 22:3-4 stated, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.” Satan went after the heart of Judas. Satan established his purpose for Judas to betray Jesus. When Satan can establish in the heart of man, faith will fail and failure will take over to derail man’s journey to expected end.
Peter was close to Jesus yet he could have ended up his journey of life. Peter could have wasted because of Satan’s agenda of failure for man’s heart. Once Jesus said to him, “…Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32) Man needs to be constantly engaged through meditation day and night. A heart that is engaged by meditating the word of God is disengaged from negotiation with the devil. Determination to deny Satan from the heart is not enough but only prayer in the name of Jesus will deny Satan’s access to the heat. Determination failed Peter when he denied Christ three times but earlier prayer of Jesus for Peter’s faith not to fail delivered Peter from failing to arrive at his divine assignment.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to keep your heart and not be a victim of the Satan.

FAITH CAPSULE: Know your God, boast in Him for unfailing victory.

Daniel 3

It is how you trust in God that will determine how you remember to call on Him. The Bible stated in Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” The God you remember is the one you boast about. We cannot boast enough of His awesomeness. His goodness and mercy is exceedingly beyond man’s imagination.
What or who is it that you know to be boastful about? The Psalmist testified, “In God we boast all day long…” (Psalm 44:8) God is the One and only almighty God, He is the great I AM, He is worth of all day boasting. In boasting we give our jealous God His due attention. Boasting in God is announcing that with God all things are possible. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego demonstrated what it means to be boastful of God. They were set to be sentenced into a fiery burning furnace because they took their stand and not bow for a golden image. Boasting could provoke boldness to look in the face of challenging militating wicked of this world and become an overcomer. In the face of challenge be bold, boast of God and claim the salvation of God.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego responded to Nebuchadnezzar by boasting of their God stating, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
Boasting God all day long will boost up one where others are grounded. Once, the armies of the children Israel and their God were being verbally abused by Goliath. The children of Israel were emotionally and physical grounded in the face of their enemy. In this battle, Goliath repeatedly demoralized the armies of the children of Israel by the word of his mouth. When David got to the battle ground, he responded to Goliath by boasting in God, “…You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you…” (1 Samuel 17:45-46) Know your God, boast in Him all day long and He will boost you over your Goliath.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the boldness to be boastful of God in the face of your enemy.