FAITH CAPSULE: Take God for His word and know that He hears.

Numbers 14

The same God yesterday, today and tomorrow stated, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). By virtue of this scriptural verse, it is clear why David stated in both 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 18:3, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” God said He will hear before they call and David said ‘I will call’. David was sure of getting result because he demonstrated that there is answer in calling on the only One that hears before we call. Just as the Lord promised to answer before they call, He also stated that He will hear while they are speaking. This is evident with the children of Israel. During one of Israelites rebellious complaints, all they were speaking were heard by God and God responded, “…I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you” (Numbers 14:27-28). The One that gives ear does have ear to hear. It is important to know that God answers call and He also hears while we speak. What are you communicating to God or before God?  Most times our life in this world is affected by the words of our mouth. The Bible is true when it states that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
Often times when positive is communicated, positive becomes one’s portion because the One that hears does not stop hearing at every moment that we speak. This is the reason why the book of Ecclesiastes 5:6 says, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error…” As much as there is nowhere to hide from God, it is true that our words cannot go by Him without Him hearing us. Why not abstain from communicating negative words but speak positive words to His hearing? At every calling on God, do you mention His name? Know that, “…you who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent and give Him no rest till He establishes…” (Isaiah 62:6-7). Calling on His name and not keeping quiet over our expectation is what Jesus referred to when He commanded us in His Parable of the Persistent Widow stating that men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18). Why not take God for His word and open your mouth wide for Him to fill it? (Psalm 81:10)

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace that your word will get answer from Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Word of God will build man for the glory of God.

Jeremiah 1, John 1:1-18

It is written, ^“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) The same word that brought forth creation is still the same word that is building up those who receive and believe in Him. The word of God is spirit and it gives life. John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” It is worth to remember that the same word that created everything is there to give more than we can imagine.
Meditating the word of God constantly will build man for the glory of God. It is one thing to memorize the word, it is another to know to memorize and meditate the word. Knowing the word and not knowing to memorize and meditate is empty; it generates no power. Meditation will cause one to observe and do what the word requires, and there’s simply no substitute for meditating the word. The word of God is power and the word can never deny itself nor fail, but man can fail to have the word work on their behalf. The work of God is in the word of God. The disciples once asked Jesus, “…What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28) Jesus responded, “…This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:29)
The word of God cannot be compromised if you desire for the word to build you. Just as there is no substitute for food in order for man to grow physically, so there is no substitute for the word to grow spiritually. Jeremiah 15:16 testified that the word is food when he testified, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart…” (Jeremiah 15: 16) How often or are you feeding on the word of God? When there is no constant feeding on the word of God the word will amount to nothing in man’s built up. When man hears and gives ear to the word of God man is set to be built up for the glory of God. It is written, “Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken.” (Jeremiah 13:15) The Lord has spoken, as a believer, play your part and receive his word that will build you up for the glory of God. Job, after experiencing God’s move in His word, he testifies, “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” (Job 41:5) It is worthy to be hearing His word that will build up man to become a living testimony of one that is built up by the word of God for the glory of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be built up by the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Serving God reasonably is living a life of commitment to God.

Exodus 3:13-22

God called on Moses, assigned him as agent of God for the deliverance of the Israelites. The command to bring them out is for them to come out of bondage and serve God. God spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:18, “Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’” Evidently, serving God is a sacrifice. Engaging sacrifice is serving serve God. All through the encounters of Moses with Pharaoh was a striking message of letting the people go and serve (sacrifice) God. By the hand of God through Moses the children of Israel were brought out of bondage of over four hundred years. Coming out of the Israelites from the bondage of over four hundred years is their deliverance. Like the Israelites, deliverance of believers today is coming out of the bondage of sin and iniquities by the blood of Jesus Christ. Each and every believer is to live a life of serving God must be a reasonable service (sacrifice) to God.
The grace of salvation is to enable believers to be consistent in walking with God.
God is a God with good plans for His children who will serve Him in all of their walks.
As a believer, you have not been redeemed to serve or sacrifice to the god of this world. The children of Israel eventually gained freedom from the house of bondage (Egypt), but they entered into self-bondage in their journey. They failed in their service and could not pass unto the promise of God. How are you living a life of sacrifice? It is not enough that you have come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. You also need to begin to live a life of sacrifice, serving the Lord God reasonably. Serving God reasonably is living a life of commitment to God not serving to God at convenience.
In serving God, a high standard of a reasonable service should be in place. Those who serve Him reasonably seek Him diligently because seeking Him diligently is the evidence of a faithful believer not serving God as unbelieving believer. God attends to those who seek Him diligently with reward. Hebrews 11:6 buttressed, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” As a believer, commit to God with reasonable sacrifice that cost you and He will return unto you with a priceless blessing.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that enables man to be serving God reasonably.

FAITH CAPSULE: Before God there is no excuse for error.

2 Samuel 6

Doing what is good in a wrong manner will have no excuse before God. Uzzah, with good heart, wrongly sin and ended up in destruction. For Uzzah, during the transfer of the Ark of God from the house of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. In the process of driving the cart Uzzah, out of a good heart committed an act for his life terminating wrongdoing. Bible recorded his error, “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.’ (Genesis 6:6-7)
The bible recorded Uzzah’s act of a good heart to be an error.
Uzzah despised the word of God as stated in Numbers 4:15, “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.”  Despising the word of God is positioning self for destruction.
With every indication as recorded in the bible, every error before God is wrongdoing.
Wrongdoing is a deviation from accuracy as in mistake, as in action or speech. Wrongdoing is the condition of believing what is not true. Wrongdoing is a moral offense; wrongdoing can be sin. It is wrongdoing to violate the word of God and it can be a conscious or unconscious error before God. Wrongdoing 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? (I pray that the grace of God will open your eyes to avoid or come out of conscious or unconscious wrongdoing.
Before God, no excuse for wrongdoing which violates God’s word.
Before God, Adam and Eve committed error by believing the serpent enough to eat against God’s command not to eat from a particular tree in the Garden of Eden. They both violated the word of God by their error (a wrongdoing).
When God showed up (just as He will show up on all man) both Adam and Eve attempted to justified their action before God by 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. Wrongdoing committed by Adam and Eve eposes man to numerous pains today.

Prayer point: Ask for grace not to a waste in the effort of doing good from the heart.

FAITH CAPSULE: God also mentioned that “while we speak, He will hear us”

Isaiah 65

What a mighty, gracious and merciful God we serve! God was speaking in the book of Isaiah, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24) God is true to His word. King David testified to the trueness of God when he stated, “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’s kind of praise is a celebrated praise; a boastful full praise. By his kind of praise, he was sure that his call had been answered by God who answers before we call on Him. David’s approach is evidence to the truth that God is not only worthy of our contemplative praise (thoughtful or meditative praise). David was rendering a boastful praise knowing that God had done it before asking. A boastful praise is rooted in understanding of God’s character to be answering prayer before we call; boastful praise is celebrating what God has done or what He will do.
God also mentioned that “while we speak, He will hear us”. Indeed, God heard the children of Israel speaking (not praying) in the face of challenging needs during their journey through the wilderness. It was rebellious speeches rooted in complaints. God responded by stating, “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.” (Numbers 14:28) Unfortunately for the Israelites it was negative speech; it was rebellious speech whereby they were rejecting God for His mercy that brought them out of bondage of over four hundred years.
It is very important to always know that God hears what we are asking for before opening our mouth or our heart in prayer and speech. There is no safer place in speaking than speaking positive always regardless of the negative before us. The same word of God declared to us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Often time we have no idea who is before us whenever we speak out positive or negative. Word of God also warned against speaking, confessing negative stating, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?” (Ecclesiastes 5:6) Are you speaking or confessing negative before God expecting excuse will count before God? It is worth not to be speaking negative than saying it and claiming mistake for excuse. Before God there is no excuse that counts.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace not to be communicating negative always.