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

2 Samuel 6

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 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 caused man to numerous pains today.
Doing what is good wrongly (that is engaging the heart with a wrong act) in the name of God is an error with no reasonable excuse to be delivered from destruction. Uzzah engaged his heart with a good act which led to his destruction.
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 called Uzzah’s act of a good heart 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.

Prayer point: Ask for grace not to engage a life terminating wrongdoing.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you experiencing challenges with your need for God’s remembrance upon your life?

1Samuel 1

Are you in doubt if God has forgotten you? Are you thinking your distance from God is the reason for God not to remember you? What is your challenge that demands attention? God is a caring father, He is a caring creator that does not sleep off and not remember is creation. The word of God is true as it is written in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)
God does not forget is creation but will remember with favor and visit with salvation. The Psalmist wanted to be remembered, and it is written in Psalm 106:4 “Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation.” Over four hundred years of bondage was not enough for God not to remember the Israelites in the hand of Pharaoh and his heart of stone. God remembered the Israelites as stated, “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (Exodus 2:23-24) God remembered the Israelites and God acknowledged them. With God’s acknowledgement, nothing could stop the Israelites from coming out of bondage; the Israelites could not be stopped from setting out for their journey to the Promised Land. For the children of Israel, God’s acknowledgement was permanent end to the bondage in the hand of Pharaoh.
God’s hand is not short and His hand cannot fail for deliverance and preservation at all time. God remembered the Israelites and Hannah was also remembered by God.
Hannah, in time of her need for God’s visitation she never excused herself from going to Shiloh. Hannah was barren and mockery was constant in her face. Hannah could not forget her God but kept on going for God at Shiloh. Hannah’s barrenness could not yield her to mockery of bareness.
Are you experiencing challenges with your need for God’s remembrance upon your life?God does not forget but remembered and visited Hannah, “…Elkhanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.” God’s remembrance of Hannah delivered her from mockery into miracle. Without any doubt, God is a good God and there is no evil agenda which can stop God’s doing.
God alone will turn mockery into miracle; stagnation into motion to the glory of His Holy name. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Is there any area that you want God to remember you in the coming days? Are you walking in His commands? Call on God, put Him in remembrance concerning the work of His hand and He will remember you and visit you with salvation.

Prayer for today: Ask God to look upon you for His visitation.

FAITH CAPSULE: Commitment to the Word of God is a responsibility.

Numbers 32

Commitment to God is a responsibility that leads to greatness to the glory of God. Commitment to God is to consigned self to be seeking God with all heart, with all soul, with all strength. With commitment to seek God as responsibility, failure not to find God becomes impossible. Deuteronomy 4:29 encouraged seeking God is to find God as stated, “…you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Responsibility is to be committed to the promise of God and not be discouraged by inconvenience in the journey of obtaining His promise. The Israelites could not commit to God’s promise when they withdrew to convenience. The Children of Gad and the children of Reuben resolved to settle for East side of the Jordan when God wanted them to cross the Jordan and establish them. Numbers 32: 1-7 documented, “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,  the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon,  the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”  Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?  Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?” God promised a land that flows with milk and honey but they wanted to settle for land with only milk. Responsibility is to be committed to God’s promise and not be discourage by inconvenience. It was not convenience for the children of Reuben and the children of Gad to move as commanded by God.
Lack of commitment is the evidence of irresponsible to God’s way of life. Without responsible before God: man will not wholly follow God; man will contradict confession of faith; man will consciously or unconsciously look away from God; man will turn to spirit of lukewarm.
Irresponsible is to discontinue walking in line with God’s word. So much promise in the word of God but man often settles for less because of inconvenient as commitment suffers. Indeed, not until man is empty of self, man can never be fully committed and be responsible before for God. Elisha emptied himself when he departed from all that could have possibly denied his responsibility to fully follow Elijah to the center of his divine assignment. (1 Kings 19:19-21)

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be committed to God in all your ways.

FAITH CAPSULE: Responsibility is the price for greatness.

Daniel 6

Responsibility is the key for greatness to the glory of God. Only God that truly makes man to become great when there is responsibility engaging the words of God. God is a saving master but not a slave master that will not force man to engage His word. Indeed, and in truth responsibility is the ability or authority to act or decide on one’s own, without supervision.
Responsibility is rooted in being mindful of God that is mindful of man. David’s question to God pointed out God’s mindful of man in Psalm 8:4, “What is man that You are mindful of him…”  Man, that is mindful of God is set to be full of God. To be full of God is a responsibility which is without that to become great to the glory of God.
As a believer, are you truly mindful of God or mouth full of God?
What does it involved to be mindful of God ass documented through the bible?
TO KNOW GOD BUT NOT TO KNOW ABOUT GOD IS A RESPONSIBILITY
Daniel is an example among those who know God to live life with responsibility as the key for his greatness to the glory of God. Daniel knew God as testified in Daniel 11:32, “but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”
Daniel’s knowing God provoked him to be responsible not to defile himself before God. In his heart, he purposed not to defile himself with delicacies of unbeliever king. Bible recorded, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8)
Daniel was mindful of God; he knows God thus he responsibly purposed his heart for. Daniel’s responsibility for his greatness is also the evidence of his prayer custom before God. Daniel a captive became a governor. He was plotted against to be set in the den of lion for his termination. Daniel engage the responsibility of prayer as recorded in Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”  Daniel was sentenced into the den of lions because he was praying and making supplication before his God. As a young captive, his prayer as his custom since his early days was his responsibility for his greatness to the glory of God. Daniel was responsible to know God and could not be a victim of evil agenda.

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

FAITH CAPSULE: The God of Elijah answered by fire.

1 Kings 18:20-46, 19:1-3

Word of God is fire. The fire of God is power. Elijah demonstrated the power of the Word of God to the glory of God.
The power of God through Elijah overcame the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel because of their powerless god. Powerless god is an embarrassment to the people of Baal. Elijah requested the prophets of Baal for sacrificial burnt offering 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 the prophet of Baal and their God as he called on His God for power demonstration. The God of Elijah answered by fire. Having embarrassed the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, Elijah caused them to be overtaken for execution at the Brook of Kishon. Elijah’s exploits were the effect of God’s intervention because Elijah stood for righteousness.
What do you stand for? Is your congregation gathering in the name of the God of Elijah? Are you demonstrating the power of the God of Elijah or the power of the god of the prophets? Powerless congregation will not prevail and it heads in the way of destruction just like prophets of Baal. After the prophets of Baal’s demonstration of lack of power, Elijah had them rounded up and they were all executed. When Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab heard what Elijah did to the prophets of Baal, she threatened to kill Elijah. Elijah ran for his life. It is written in 1Kings 19:3, “And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” One would have expected Elijah to continue to walk in the power of God. However, despite the power of God in the life of Elijah, he did not walk; he ran. Have you been running where you should be walking? Elijah had experienced the hand of God earlier when he was to be walking; the hand of God came upon him and put him ahead in 1Kings 18:46, “Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezebel.” God is a consistent God and He will not leave you nor forsake you if meditating the Word of God day and night. Despite the power of God in Elijah’s life, he knew not to give enemy the chance of upper hand over his life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the miracle hand of God to come upon you.