FAITH CAPSULE: Living satisfied with the world around you is to have eliminated a sacrificial life.

Romans 12  

Satisfaction has taken place over your sacrificial living for God. Being conformed to the world around you has taken over your commitment unto God. What is your destination in the journey of life? Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, have you really considered that serving God is why you are alive? Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
The scriptural passage did not say, ‘Present your bodies a living satisfied.’ You know exactly what it says. Living satisfied is to have eliminated a sacrificial living for God. In the name of God, and by designed interpretation of the word of God, some believers have found a way out to justify a satisfied living that suits them. Many are being carried away by their way of life rather than by the ways of God. Psalm 145:17, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.” God does have a required and specified standard that we are to be living for Him. The standard is to serve Him, and to serve God is to love God. Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Agreed, you know about this word, but it is not enough if you know but do not do. Living satisfied with the world around you is to have eliminated a sacrificial life. Until one begins to live a sacrificial life for God, one cannot live a holy life. Living a sacrificial life will take one out of the world of sin because all that is considered as fun and free cannot add up for you. Living a sacrificial life is living in the fear of God. Psalm 97:10 makes us to realize that, “You who love the LORD, hate evil…!” Also, the book of Proverbs 8:13 buttress it that, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Are you one that loves the evil world while claiming to be living in the fear of the Lord? There is none that can claim living a sacrificial life and yet be in love with the wicked and evil world. Living a sacrificial life is the only acceptable way before God and there is no lowering of standards. What God sees is reasonable service, not seasonal service. Make the choice and give unto God a reasonable service by becoming a living sacrifice, which is holy, acceptable to God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to live fully for God

FAITH CAPSULE: Lack of understanding is not to remember God; to rebel against God and not to fear God.

1 Samuel 1

God does not forget but remembers all and nothing passes God without His attention. Man’s failure not to remember the goodness of God is forgetting what God can do. An example of forgetting God is identified in Psalm 106:7, “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders, they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.” One that does not understand the mercies of God will lose the focus on what He has done; what He is doing and not remembers to fear God. The Israelites did not remember the multitude of God’s mercies but rebelled. Deliverance of man out of bondage of over four hundred years but not remember His mercies will not fear God. Rebellious consciously or unconsciously is the evidence of lack of understanding to fear God.
Man does not live life to fear God anymore. Unfortunately for man, God cannot forget to remember His own when His own does not to forget Him but live life in the fear of God. He is faithful in and He will not fail to remember when we remind Him concerning the works of His hand.
God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark and God Made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. (Genesis 8:1) God does not sleep and He will not sleep concerning His children. The fact that God remembered Noah is not a demonstration of a forgetful God but it is an indication that God moves at His own pace and His timing is better. God will always remember with favor and visits with salvation. God commanded Noah to build an ark of salvation before the time of the flood and when it was time for Noah to land on dry land, He remembered Noah and made a way for him on the dry land. Have you ever considered the need for you to maintain trust and hope that He has not forgotten you?
The children of Israel were in bondage for over four hundred years. Salvation was not activated for the children of Israel until God remembered them. Do you have a need for God to remember you? God alone is able to remember man and dry tears of lack; He is able to remember and move man from stagnation into motion; He remembers to turn mockery into miracle. Hannah, in the hopelessness of her bareness, God remembered her. Eli the priest prayed for her at Shiloh and she returned. It is written, “Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.” (1 Samuel 1:19) Remember that God will remember you, do not rebel but fear Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to live life of remembering Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Lack of knowledge is rooted in lack of understanding.

 1 Samuel 3

Listening ability is the evidence of hearing to obey the spoken Word of God. Are you hearing the word of God to obey His word? Hearing without understanding is the evidence of lack of knowledge. Word of God buttressed in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Are you having a knowing edge because of you knowledge in the Word of God? It is important to know why knowledge is lacking. Truly, lack of knowledge is rooted in lack of understanding. Where there is no understanding there will be lack of knowledge.
Jesus pointed out the reason for lack of understanding stating in John 8:43, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” Listening is the reason for not having understanding and with no understanding there will be no knowledge. If there was ever to be a heaven-made hearing-aid on sale for thousands of dollars, would you purchase it? Hearing and listening is the key in the race of life. Hearing and listening is what is needed to start your journey and get you to your center of divine assignment. If you cannot hear and listen to the Word of God, you will miss the clarion call and your journey will either be terminated or delayed. Will you now consider buying a heaven-made hearing-aid for listening? 1 Samuel 3:10, “Now the LORD came and stood and called as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’”
Samuel heard the calling of God repeatedly but no understanding. Samuel lack knowledge to move as called by God until Eli intervened with understanding for Samuel to gain knowledge in the calling of God.
Isaiah testified, “Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” (Isaiah 6:8) Just like Samuel, Isaiah also heard his calling. He was considered the greatest Old Testament prophet. His ministry spanned the reigns of five Kings of Judah. Hearing and answering to God made all the difference in the ministry of Samuel and Isaiah. It is impossible for one to hear God and not answer His Word–the same Word that brought everything into creation makes all the difference in all that hears and answer Him. It is not possible for one to hear Him and fail in His calling. The problem of not hearing God is the evidence of a hearing without listening with understanding. Everywhere on the face of the earth, the blocking agent who is the god of this age is in place for his destruction agenda for lack of knowledge by man. God has been calling you, but you have not been hearing and listening to Him. Give self to hear, listen and gain understanding having knowledge and not be a victim of destruction.

Prayer for today: Ask God to open your heart to be hearing, listening having knowledge not to be a victim of destruction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Abraham love God with all his all.

Genesis 22

Imagine the love of Abraham for God when he heard from God in Genesis 22:2, “Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” With love and with no hesitation, Abraham responded to God’s request without withholding his son from God’s request for sacrificial offering of Isaac. Abraham, in the process of sacrificing his son he heard from God, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven…” (Genesis 22:16-17) Abraham’s demonstration of giving love to God as he received love from God.
Giving love to God demands giving all to God. Deuteronomy 6:5 recorded what giving love in all to God, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Again, Abraham is an example of giving all love to God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength.
Abraham’s love with all heart, with all soul and with all strength: Abraham responded to the calling of God for him to move away from his family at age seventy-five and with no child (Genesis 12:1). With his love to God with all his all made him to attempt to slay his only son(Isaac) for sacrificial offering as God requested.
Jesus buttressed loving God with all when He stated, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
Above all, giving love to God is making the choice to live life. The word of God admonished, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16)
Why not give your love to God?
Will you turn around in your way of living life by giving your love to God? The evidence of not giving love to God is turning away heart from God as stated in Deuteronomy 30:17-18, “But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days…” God is a caring and He is mindful of us because He loves us. As a jealous God, He expects our love for Him to avoid making the choice of the consequence in place for not loving Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of understanding to love Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: God’s calling is God’s investment if man will answer to God.

1Kings 18:20-46, 19:1-3

Has He called you but yet you are in doubt? Doubt is not of God; doubt is a mission of devil against the called ones. Without doubt, answer to His calling and He will not forsake you. 1Thessalonians 5:24 recorded, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” From this day, put away doubt to engage His calling. When He calls you, He will invest His power in your calling as you answered His calling.
Invested power of God in the life of Elijah was demonstrated through his answering to the calling of God. Elijah demonstrated the power of God by overcoming the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah made a public show of their powerless god. He embarrassed them when they could not call their god to life. Elijah had the prophets of Baal assembled on Mount Carmel as he commanded, “…you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God. So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.” (1 Kings 18: 24-25) The god of the prophets could not show up. Elijah mocked and ridiculed them before he called on His God for His power. The God of Elijah answered by fire. Having embarrassed the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, Elijah caused them to be overtaken and executed at the Brook of Kishon. All of Elijah’s exploits were the effect of God’s intervention because Elijah answered to the calling of God. Power of God will not be evidence in any man that calls self but not called by God. Just like the prophets of Baal with no power of God, any man’s congregation that is not of God will not prevail but will head in the way of destruction. With the evidence of the prophets of Baal’s lack of power of God, Elijah had them rounded up for execution.
Are you in doubt as regard to His calling upon your life? Doubt is not of God; doubt belongs to the enemy of man. It is important to know that without doubt, when God calls you, He will back you up. God is not a careless but a caring, considerate and attentive God for His called ones. God called Elijah and invested power in the life of Elijah because Elijah answered to the calling of God.
Have you been called by God? Peace of God will always back you when answering to His calling. God is a consistent God; God will not leave you nor forsake you.

Prayer for today: Ask for the boldness and character to answer to His calling.