FAITH CAPSULE: Know understanding to be giving thanks to God instead of thinking thanks.

Luke 9:1-17   

It is the privilege of God but not anyone’s right that keep’s man alive. It is important to know understanding that life should not only be about what you expect from the Lord. Today, know understanding that expressing your appreciation to God for all things will provoke all things to work together for the glory of God. Man, with understand expresses appreciation to God by giving thanks instead of thinking thanks. Turn to giving thanks but not thinking about thanks to God!
By grace, the hand of the Lord has been keeping you from day to days, week to weeks, month after months and year after years. The hand of God upon you is not because of merit but mercy. Living life is not a right but a privilege bestowed upon us by God. Why not turn from expectation to expression of appreciation? Are you consciously aware that God expects our appreciation more than we offer Him? When there is a failure to appreciate it becomes an evidence of foolishness. Foolishness is like saying there is none to appreciate. A failure to appreciate God for His goodness is foolishness; it is an act of saying there is no God. Foolishness says there is no God. (Psalm 14:1) The book of Psalm 94:8-9 buttressed, “Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” Do not be foolish not to express to Him your appreciation.
Are you expecting from the hand that has been keeping you by grace, and not by work?
Today, be encouraged and not be discouraged that your location or situation can delay but will not deny your expectation. Express your appreciation of God for His grace over your life. Disallow worry but engage worshiping God. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He will extend His hand concerning location and situation which is militating against your expectation. Jesus at the desert of lack with multiplied, five loaves and two fish answered with abundance. At the desert of lack Jesus gave a command, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”  And they did so, and made them all sit down.” (Luke 9:15)
After He observed obedience, “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.” (Luke 9:16-17) People obeyed His command. In every obedience to the word of God, expectation is bound for manifestation.
Are you having challenges but ready to obey His commands?

Prayer for today: Ask God to direct your heart into appreciation of His hand upon your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Trust and hope is same as boldness and character that will make man up as winning combination.

1 Samuel 17

Trust and hope in the Lord; wait on Him by seeking Him diligently. Jeremiah 17:7 is the testimony not to be short receiving from God. It is recorded, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”
Claim to have trust and not have hope is not complete to mark man as a winner. Trust and hope is like having boldness and character which is certain to make man a winner in the face of challenges. King David is an example of one with trust and hope which marked him with boldness and character. David’s trust on God was his character which is personalizing God for himself. Some of David’s Psalms revealed him personalizing God in his life. Psalm 3:7, “Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone…”  Psalm 5:2, Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.” David also demonstrated his hope in God marching with boldness against a versed giant soldier while he was a novice young boy fighter. David’s trust and hope in God demonstrated his boldness and character that made him to stand as a winner for the glory of God.
Do you trust and hope in God in times of challenges? In this wicked world, challenges will come. Acclaimed believer of God must trust and hope as in boldness and character. Victory is certain to answer in time of challenge and to mark one as winner for the glory of God just like King David.
The word of God is written for our learning. To learn in His word is to gain and know understanding to be trusting and hoping in God always. The word of God is true to deliver and preserve according to His word for man that will take to the word of God as His testimony. Among the ways of trusting and hoping on God is keeping His testimonies. Psalm 119:2 stated, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” Keeping the testimonies of God is the keeper of true believer of God in this wicked world. The testimonies of God are the works of God. The works of God are the creation of His word and the word of God is the presence of God Himself. It is important to always reflect it that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4) The word of God is God. Trust and hope in God as to bold and character in Him to make you a winner.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God to be living in trust and hope in Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: God created earth for good, but man infested earth with wickedness.

Genesis 6

At the time of the creation of earth, God called all His creation good. For example, “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good.” (Genesis 1:3-4) Earth was created to be good but man’s existence of earth turned the earth to bad with wickedness. God saw the wickedness on earth and responded stating, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7)
Living in this world infested by wicked man with their wickedness can be overcome by getting to know understand in the word of God. Man, that knows understanding in the living word of God will take a position of having a knowing edge over challenges of this wicked world. The book of Proverbs admonished, “Hear my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding.” (Proverbs 4:1) Man must have understanding in the living word of God to be able to live on top of earth created by the word of God. It is unfortunate that many are hearing the promises in the word of God but failing to do and do as word required. It is important to know that the word of God will work for man with understanding in this wicked world. The word of God specifically stated that we should “hear the instruction and give attention to understand.”  Understanding the word of God is the key to living life as an overcomer and not be living as a victim of the wicked world. It is giving attention to know understanding that will make man to excel for the glory of God. God does not waste word and that is why the word of God mentioned, “…and in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7) Hearing is not enough; hearing is only enough when man is able to give attention to know understanding. It is significant that hearing and hearing in the word of God should be receive by doing and doing as the word of God requires. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, the only One that was in the beginning realized it that man was not getting the understand that is required for living life abundantly when He questioned and answered retrospectively, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (John 8:43) Listening disability is the key not to know and gain understanding.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know understanding in the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Adopt self to giving thanks with understanding to God for His visitation.

Psalm 104

Praising God is seeking God. Psalm 47:7, recorded, “For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” As praising God is with understanding, giving thanks to God should be with understanding. Giving thanks to God with understanding will grant one that is thanking God with undeniable access to the presence of God. Psalm 100:4 buttressed meaning of giving thanks to God with understanding, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Jesus gave thanks to God with understanding and it brought out Lazarus up from death of four days. It is written, “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me…” (John 11:41-42) A meaning full thanks giving to God with understand will provoke the full of God’s manifestation. The word of God does not lie only the word of man is full of lie.
To be alive is a privilege it is not a right; to be alive is of mercy and it is not a thing of merit. Think of it, you are not just alive, but you are able to see the light of a new day. Your eyes are functioning, your legs are not stagnated, and your mind is in right condition. What a privilege of God to be alive? Think of it, turnaround from whatever is keeping you down from opening your mouth wide, giving God glorious thanks giving. From today, make it a pattern of life to be rising by giving thanks to God with understanding. God alone privilege man with qualification to be alive seeing the light of a new day. It is worthy to be seeking God’s face by appreciating Him for the grace of your being alive for the season. In the place of planning for the season without God is an error that will reduce man before God.
The psalmist praised, “O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” (Psalm 104:1-4) It is a wise move for man to take just a line out of the above scriptural verses and meditate on it all day long. Indeed, and in truth, thousands of tongues are not enough to thank God enough. God alone is more than worthy of all praise and adoration.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of unceasing thanks giving with understanding to Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Knowing God will be giving accessible to unfailing power of God in life.

John 11:1-44

The Israelites needed to know the name of their God. One and only creator is God. He spoke to Moses, “…Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” (Exodus 3:15) Just has the Israelites needed to know God, today every living soul need to know God. God alone is the God to all generations. God is the unchanging changer; He is God of all generations that reverses irreversible. 1 Timothy 6:15-16 described God, “…which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” Knowing the name of God will be giving man access to unfailing power of God for deliverance and preservation. Just knowing about the name of God is not enough for gaining access to the power of God. What man knows about God will determine the standing of man before God in this wicked world.
Man, that knows God will have the fear of God. Psalm 33:18 stated the blessings of living life in the fear for God, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.”  Without doubt, man should know God to fear God because the fear of the Lord is His treasure. (Isaiah 33:6) Man, that knows to fear God is certain to be righteous before God. Bible recorded the blessings of man that is righteous before God stating, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) Do you know God to be running to God as your strong tower?
The name of God is powerful, and His name is magnified. Psalm 138:2 testified, “I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
Think of it to know that the word of God is magnified indeed and in truth because there is nothing God can do without His word. In the beginning, it was the spoken word of God that created all things. The word of God can terminate struggle when it locates man with need for deliverance. It was the word of God that brought out Lazarus from the grave of four days. The name of God is a strong tower and His word is magnified. It is time to live life as one that knows God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to know God indeed and in truth.