FAITH CAPSULE: In all walks of life, there is no excuse that is excuse-able before God.

Genesis 3

Despising the word of God is dishonoring God which is the lack of fear of God. The book of Proverbs 13:13 cautions, “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” Are you despising the word of God which is the lack of fear of God?
Foolishness is the identity of lack of the fear God.
The Psalmist stated it, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” They are corrupt, they have done more abominable work, there is none who does good.” (Psalm 14:1) Man’s foolishness is in the heart while demonstration is the act of no fear for God.
David had no room in his heart for foolishness but full of fear for God. The fear of God in David’s heart restrained his act by not killing King Saul the king of God’s people.
David’s way of life qualifies as a lesson to fear God. In Psalm 34, David spoke out, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” (Proverbs 34:11) Are you a true believer that listens to hear and be one with understanding of the fear of God?
David Psalm 34 taught four points to learn and know the fear of God as stated: Keep your tongue from evil, keep your lips from speaking deceit, depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Psalm 34:13-14) Bible is written for our learning. Man, that will learn from David’s word will no doubt but live life as a God-fearing man.
Adam and Eve had a better excuse by wanting to be excused by God for their disobedience to the word of God. Adam and Eve’s excuse was not excusable before God. Adam and Eve ate from the tree which God gave command not to eat. God approached Adam asking, “…Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11) Adam responded to God with man’s best excuse which was the worst inexcusable then and till today. Adam gave excuse stating, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12) Are you excusing your disobedience before God or are you repenting before God for your forgiveness? Disobeying the word of God is despising the word of God. Disobeying God is foolishness. Foolishness is a conscious or unconscious of saying there is no God. How can we not obey the One that created us? How can we look around and not look up to see sky among His creation and not know that indeed God is near? Psalm 75:1 buttressed, “…For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” With God, no excuse is excusable when God disobeyed. To fear God is for our own good because it keeps us not to depart from God. When we can obey fully by fearing God, He will preserve us fully.

Prayer for today: Ask God to open your heart obeying according to His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Your action is your conduct that is measured by God.

Genesis 6, 7

As an acclaimed believer, your act is your action. As an acclaimed believer, how are you conducting yourself knowing that it counts before God? Do you not know that, “…for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” (1Samuel 2:3) Every conduct of a believer counts and how it counts will determine how you relate to God. Apostle Paul spoke, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Christianity is not to impress man but to press forward for the Kingdom of God; to press forward and not to be cut off in God’s divine agenda in the life of man. Apostle Paul warned, “…let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ…”
There is a command to stand fast in the spirit. Those who stand fast in the spirit are the ones that cue themselves in the command of God. Why not stand fast in the word of God? Taking a cue in the word of God will make one a commander in this world. Your action is the testimony of how you stand in the Lord. If your action is worthy of Christ, you will be steadfast in Him. Your action is your evangelism to unbelievers of God that in your vicinity. Act right as a believer that lives in the word of God.  As the year goes by, let the word of God be your commander and let it take a charge of your heart.
Conduct is a personal behavior and it catches God’s attention. The word of God testified about Noah stating, “…Noah did according to all that God commanded him…” (Genesis 6:22) Noah conducted himself in line with God’s command and destruction could not locate him. Conducting oneself in God’s word is living in obedience to God. Apostle Paul was asking for a conduct that binds believers together for the advancement for the faith of the gospel. Can you identify the differences in your action? Have you heard people say to you that you are the Bible that they are reading? Christianity is a way of life. God cannot be deceived, let not your conduct be of deception. Whatever your conduct is behind closed doors should not be an embarrassing issue when it is conducted in the open. Have you been playing religion? Ones that are playing or acting religion will only last for a while before the truth prevails. Do not be overtaken by sin because God will not overlook sin. It is about time for self-examination and sincerity before God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to constantly act right.

FAITH CAPSULE: Meditating your prayer will work as quality prayer that is fervent and earnest before God.

Psalm 64

Effective fervent prayer is earnest prayer that prevails for a believer. Fervent prayer is intensely passionate prayer. Earnest prayer is a serious intention, purpose or effort. Elijah’s prayer with result was propelled with fervent and earnest approach. James 5:16-18 described Elijah’s quality prayer of result, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”  Elijah’s quality prayer was to address a special need. Are you addressing a special need with prayer that lack intense passion with no serious intention? It is time to begin to address special need with fervent, earnest prayer like Elijah’s prayer.
In one word, meditating your prayer will work as quality prayer that is fervent and earnest before God. Meditating prayer will be presented before God day and night. Without doubt, praying word before God day and night is labor, is fervent and earnest before God. In this wicked world, simply give yourself continually by meditating prayer of deliverance and preservation.
From this day, before God, with your expectation and manifestation adapt to David’s prayer by meditating as stated, “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows-bitter words.” (Psalm 64:1-3) Meditation is not memorization. Meditating your prayer before God just like meditating the word of God will answer for your deliverance and preservation. Meditating the word of God answered for Moses and Joshua as their compass for navigation through the wilderness journey.
Joshua 1:8 recorded meditating word of God, “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.” Evidently as meditating word of God worked in the life of Moses and Joshua it is certain that meditating your prayer of deliverance and preservation before God will bring forth manifestation.
In the life of a believer, when faith sinks, fear will rise to take place. Fear does not announce itself before it invades its victims. Fear knows no discrimination. David’s prayer of meditation was against fear when he stated, “Preserve me from the fear of the enemy.” Fear is the master of fear against man day and night while meditating prayer day and night against devil is the solution to quell fear.
In this wicked world, give yourself continually meditating word of prayer against fear and your deliverance and preservation shall come to be.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of fervent effective earnest prayer for your deliverance and preservation.

FAITH CAPSULE: What is your relationship with God?

Psalm 18

The bible recorded, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) God sent His word. Jesus confirmed that the word is here already by stating, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus (Living word of God) confirmed that word is here saying that “I have come not that I will come” Knowing that the word is here, what is your relationship with the word of God? Relationship with the word of God is relationship with God because the word of God is God. To be in relationship with the word of God is to be relevant with the word of God and be irrelevant with the wicked world. Word of God is God. His word is His identity, in His word is command, in His word is law, in His word is healing, in His word is revelation. In the word of God, we build relationship with God.
Build relationship with God in His word. Moses’ related with the word of God. It is written, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) The ways of God are in the word of God. The words of God are the acts of God while His acts are His direction and His testimonies. Living in this wicked word and having relationship with the word of God is living in the ways of God. Also living in the acts of God is living by keeping the testimonies of God. Man should not live life in assumptions that seems right. The bible stated, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Are you allowing assumptions to take you for ride in this wicked life?
Just like Moses, those that walk in the ways of God walks in His law and they are blessed. Psalm119:1 buttressed, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Ones that keep the testimonies of God live by the ways of God and they are blessed.
The word of God cannot be broken. Be relevant to the word of God for a mindful relationship with God. Get to know His way, keep His acts that are His testimonies to enable your seeking Him diligently. Proverbs 8:17 recorded the promise of God for those who seek God diligently, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Have faith, seek God diligently, have relationship with God to please Him. God will reward you because He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) As an acclaimed believer, embrace His ways and meditate His acts to become a diligent seeker of the Lord God.
Are you in relationship with the word of God?

Prayer for today: Ask God for His grace to gain and maintain His word for relationship with God.

FAITH CAPSULE: In God’s promise, God will not look over any violating conditions which will offset His promise.

Numbers 14:1-35

Every journey of life should disengage with multitude to avoid failure which denies arrival to expected end. Multitude is a substantial number of people that gathered together. Multitude of people can be of many character. Many character in a company of people is vulnerable to all kind of challenges. Israel were coming out of bondage of over hundred years with multitude. The bible recorded, “Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.  A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.” (Exodus 12:37-38)
The Israelites enter their journey but they could not advance because negative effect of mixed multitude. Numbers 11:4-6 recorded the negativity of mixed multitude, “Now the mixed multitudes who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:4-6)
Mixed multitude was the source of intense craving for what was not important in the journey to God Promised Land. Are you focusing on the promises of God to enter God’s Promised Land for your life or are you focusing on your crowd? Multitude/crowd will not excuse you from their negativity if you will remain relevant with their negativity. Are you focusing on where you are heading to or looking back to the past which added nothing to you but pain? With the influence of mixed multitude character, the Israelites began to count on what was in the past instead of counting the blessing outstretch hand of God that brought them out of their past. Gain focus; maintain focus; meditate on God’s promises.
This day, with understanding, know it that God performs, He is more than able to perfect on man’s life with focus on Him.
Among the Israelites, multitude with distinctive character were the source of complaint before God instead of complimenting God for His goodness. God promised Israelites with Promised Land but God could not look over violating conditions to manifest promise. God responded to violation of the Israelites as it is written, “As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:  The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.  Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” (Numbers 14:27-30)

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to separate you from multitude in your God given life.