FAITH CAPSULE: Ones that follow the commanding word of God wholly follow God fully.

Luke 5

To be steadfast in following the living word of God is not a self-satisfying engagement and one who is self-full cannot be possibly steadfast for God.
King David realized the importance and the need for one to be steadfast when he called on God in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
A steadfast spirit is what caused Caleb and Joshua to wholly follow God. Caleb and Joshua refused to flow with the crowd’s negative confession against the word of God which Promised Land that flows with milk and honey. They wholly followed the word of God as they confessed positive instead of negative in the face of Moses and all the people. By virtue of their positive confession, God declared, “My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24) Ones that follow the commanding word of God wholly follow God fully.
At the time of God’s calling of Elisha through Elijah, “…He left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’  So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.” (1 Kings 19:20-21)
Elisha left all behind when he answered God’s calling. In answering, Elisha demonstrated steadfastness; He emptied self by getting rid of material which could have held him back. Elisha used his oxen’s equipment as a boiler to boil his slaughtered oxen. Whatever man cannot forsake for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is what will cause Heaven to forsake man from becoming a qualified candidate for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus was passing by when He “…saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.” (Luke 5:27-29) Levi gave up all his possession to follow Jesus.
Have you been called for the kingdom of heaven?
What is holding you back from following Him fully?
Is your desire a denying agent that is denying you from answering to God’s calling fully?
Be steadfast in following the word of God fully to be rewarded by God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to wholly follow Him all the days of your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Fear God, live by His word.

Deuteronomy 6

Listen, the whole world is due for due deeds. Wickedness is the deeds of this world. God testified, “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…” (Genesis 6:5-7) God does not look away from sin. In the wicked days of Noah and Lot God judge the deeds of the world. Today man is not taking advantage of wickedness under heaven. God’s time of judgement is not in man’s possession to decide for God. The word of Jesus buttressed in Luke 17:26-30 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;  but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
Understand it that the word of God is perfect to perform. Psalm 18:30 stated it, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven…” Judgement will come; no man is in position to stop God’s judgement day. God will not speed in response to wickedness of man. Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 said it well, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.”  From today, stop living outside of His word, with fear for Him live in His word.
Avoid the experience of the Noah and Lot’s time. Fear God! Begin to attend the whole duty of man as stated in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
Mary said it all in Luke 1:50-51, “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” Psalmist also stated, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (Psalm 33:18-19)
Fear God and not become a vessel of self-destruction.

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God to be your garment.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be giving thanks to God for all things to work together for good to the glory of God.

Psalm 136, Luke 11:38-44

Thinking thanks is not same as giving thanks. Think about it. Are you thinking thanks or you are giving thanks to God? God does not owe us anything but we owe Him all thanks giving for His every moment of mercy over every man. Are you one that can count how many thanks has been offered to God today? If one is able to count the number of thanks offered to God today definitely there is shortage of giving thanks to God. One that is short of giving thanks to God is not praising God enough. Thanking God is praising God. Psalm 150:6 stated, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” The word of the psalmist is worthy to learn the need not to stop thanking God when there is life. Think about it, if thanking God at every breath will give life in the situation of life and death, man will make the choice of giving thanks to God at every breath of life.
Do you have any reason to be giving God a non-stop thanksgiving? Today, let thanks giving to God become a way of life. God alone is worth of thanks giving for His mercy. Psalm 136:1-3 gave a non-stop thanks to God, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.” With thanks giving, God cannot be acknowledged enough for His unmeasurable goodness to man. His mercy is uncountable. Psalm 136:26 also declared thanks giving stating, “Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.”
Two things that are certain to gain when thanking God becomes a way of living life are:
First, give thanks to God for all things, in all things and all things will work together for good.
Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Having mind of Romans 8:28, be a doer of the word of Ephesians 5:20 as it is written, “…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Secondly, God performs in prayer but He perfects in thanks giving.
At the cave of Lazarus, Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  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…” Jesus thanked God because He knew that God always hears Him before He delivers answer.
How is your thanks giving to God?

Prayer for today: Ask from God today for a thanks giving heart at all time for all things.

FAITH CAPSULE: In the journey of life, fuel is like faith; key for ignition is like patience.

Romance 4

Life is a journey. Journey of life should be fueled by faith with patience as the key for ignition. Faith is described as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith has a source. The Bible emphasizes the source of faith stating, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). Take to mind that the word of God which comes can also cease from coming when there is disengagement from hearing the word of God. Journey of life demands constant engagement to the word of God. In the journey of life with faith and patience the word of God gives life to the just ones. Habakkuk 2:4 buttressed, “…the just shall live by his faith.” All that pertains to living life is encased in living by the word of God (living by faith). The word states it, we walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7); we watch, stand by faith (1 Corinthians 16:13); faith purifies the heart (Acts 15:9); we are saved by faith through grace (Ephesians 2:8). Patience is crucial for anyone journeying through life having faith in God.
Describing Patience: Patience is the ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay. Faith plus patience is faith-full. Many have faith but majority are not faith-full.
As an acclaimed believer, do you have faith and patience to claim the blessings of God in the journey of life? Abraham is an example of one that engaged journey of life with faith and patience to obtain the promises of God. The bible recorded about God’s promise for Abraham in his journey of life, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”  Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:1-4) Through Abraham’s journey of life, faith and patience enabled him not to doubt about God’s promise to make him a father despite of his old age. Romans 4:20-22 buttressed Abraham’s journey of faith, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Are you still waiting despite your desire seems like it shall not manifest? Take to Abraham’s testimony and know that faith and patience shall not fail. Bible recorded in James 1:4 “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  God shall not fail if you will hold on with faith and patience.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace for faith and patience to become faith-full through the journey of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The words of God are not idle but the words of God are life.

Deuteronomy 32

In the book of Deuteronomy 32 Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel. The word of Moses also speaks to us today. He stated in Deuteronomy 32:45-47, “When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, ‘Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.  They are not just idle words for you – they are your life. By them you will live long…” (New International Version-UK) A very important message in the word of Moses as mentioned in the verses above is that, the words of God are life to all man today.
The word of God is Spirit. Jesus stated it clearly, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”(John 6:63) Are you taking to the word of God by seeing in it?  Moses admonished that the word of God is not just idle.
Word of God is not a letter but life. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 also confirmed, “And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Listen; take to the life in the word of God by seeing in the word of God as it sounds in your direction. Moses, Joshua and Jeremiah are among some in the hand of God that did not see the word as idle. They heard and saw life in the word to move for the glory of God.
Moses does not have any physical prove but the word he saw manifestation. Exodus 7:1 stated, “So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.” He saw the word and it was manifested.
Joshua without sight of way but hindrance, he saw in the word of God as stated, “And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” Joshua saw and received of victory over Jericho’s attempt to hinder Joshua and the Israelites.
For Jerimiah, the word of God sounded, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10) Jeremiah saw in the word of God and took charge over nations and kingdoms.
Word of God is not idle. See in the word of God to have life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be seeing in the word of God that sounds in your direction.