FAITH CAPSULE: He is with you if you will behold Him to see you through.

Genesis 28

Jacob’s escape from his brother (Esau) from Beersheba toward Haran brought him to a certain place to sleep. In his sleep, he had a dream, “And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.  Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 28:13-14) In the dream was the promise of God for Jacob that called for his attention. Behold means to observe; to look at. God was calling Jacob’s attention to observe; to look at; to see the dream. Are you sincerely beholding Him?
Truly, the dream was loaded with great promise for Jacob as he encountered his journey of life. Just as dream sounds promising so the word that sounds in our ears are promising. However, the challenge of man with dream or word of God is: Are we observing; looking or seeing in the dream or word of God that sounds in our direction? God purposely called Jacob’s attention before delivering His promise to Jacob stating, “Behold”.
With the promising dream for Jacob, God also assured Jacob with promise of manifestation of the dream by calling is attention as stated, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15) God used the word “Behold” to call Jacob’s attention for the promise; He also used the word “Behold” for His assurance to the manifestation of the promise for Jacob.
In the word or dream of God, He has promised you and assured you through the pages of the bible but you are not beholding Him. Are you looking or seeing in what He has spoken? A failure to behold (look or see) in the word of God is self-denial from possessing God’s assured promise. Pay attention to His promise; He shall see you through for manifestation. God’s promises always go through process before manifestation. In all process challenge is not exempted. However, beholding God for His promise is looking up to God which is the evidence of faith in God. In all the word or dream of God for your life, have faith; meditate His promise for manifestation. Jacob repeatedly engaged discouraging forces against God’s promise for his life but he beheld God through his journey. Do not become self-denial of God’s promise for your life. Deny discouragement in your life but be steadfast beholding God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be steadfast looking up to God.

FAITH CAPSULE: In life, seek God in a route that avoids multitude the agents of denials.

Luke 7:36-39, 8:41-48

Bible identified a prominent sinner woman in the city. It is written, “And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”(Luke 7:37-38) The prominent woman, a sinner knew what to do to get what she desired of the Lord. Woman sinner of the city approached Jesus at His feet behind Him. The woman sinner took the back route to avoid the multitude. If the woman, a sinner had attempted to take step in the front, she probably would have been denied by the multitude that was before Jesus.
In life, coming out of the worst way might demand avoiding multitude. What is the challenging need for your life that demands to avoid hindrance of life? Multitude could have been a hindrance for the sinner woman in the city. A woman, who was a sinner wanted to reach out to Jesus for Jesus’ touch in her life. The woman wanted to move forward in her life. In life, taking an uncommon move is a way to receive an uncommon testimony. In your route to reach Jesus, be focus; take a route that denies multitude; avoid common route but take uncommon route. A sinner woman went from behind, at the feet of Jesus to reach Jesus.
Just like the woman with the alabaster oil (sinner woman of the city), the woman with the issue of blood also made an uncommon route to receive uncommon miracle from Jesus. The bible recorded, “Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.” (Luke 8:43-44) Disease of twelve years also took a back route to approach Jesus. The woman with the issue of blood reached Jesus from behind. The woman with the issue of blood; the woman (sinner woman of the city) with the alabaster oil, did not take common route to reach Jesus. They both came from behind to approach Jesus where there was no means for the multitude the agents of distraction. They made a move that was purposeful in order to achieve their purpose and be fulfilled. It was an uncommon approach that provoked uncommon testimony. In every area of need, seek God in a route that avoids multitude.

Prayer for today: Ask God to take charge of your ways.

FAITH CAPSULE: Trusting God without hope to wait on Him is not complete to deliver.

Numbers 14

Engaging complaint is not acceptable before God. The Israelites made themselves a victim of complaining before God as they suffered the consequences of complaining. The Israelites were coming out of bondage of Egypt by the hand of God but repeatedly complained before God. The Israelites trust the hand of God as they engaged the journey but could not hope in God to deliver through as they repeatedly complained. Trusting God demands the need to be hopeful in God. Jerimiah 17:7 buttressed the need to trust and hope stating, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord.” Do you enter into place of worshiping God and come out of worshiping God with negative confession? Trusting God without hope to wait on Him is not complete to deliver. The Israelites entered into journey of deliverance but failed to hope but complained. The children of Israel complained directly and indirectly against God. For complaining, they were exposed to stagnation as the consequence of complaining.
It is written, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? 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: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.” (Numbers 14:27-28) God responded to complaint of the Israelites. God clearly heard the Israelites as they spoke negatively to Him. The Israelites confessed death when there was a need to be conscious of the choice words as they complaint against God. The word in the Bible warned against what tongues confessed as mentioned, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverb 18:21) Are you careful with the word that comes out of your mouth? In life, allow trust and hope as your constraining means of not complaining against God. He is a God that deserves from man to hold onto Him. How long will you doubt and not truly trust and hope to make through while waiting on God? As a result of lack of trust and hope, the Israelites suffered the consequences death in the wilderness. Also, the journey of eleven days lasted for forty years.
The Israelites had the knowledge of God by virtue of miracles that brought them out of bondage but they lack knowledge to carry them through of the journey to the Promised Land.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His grace not to be a victim of complaining.

FAITH CAPSULE: Desiring is to seek God to experience the power in His open hand.

Luke 5:12-26

God is so good and always in position for all man that will ask to receive, to seek Him and knock to receive from His opening. Asking, seeking and knocking demands consistent when desiring from God. Without doubt, when we desire by meditating day and night encountering the presence of God becomes undeniable. If there is any to desire from God, it should be His hand. It is knowledge to desire more of God’s hand because the power of God is in His hand. Power belongs to God in the hand of God. With knowledge, the Psalmist buttressed, “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16)
Are you a true believer?  King David buttressed the identities of God that answers for man, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserved all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.” (Psalm 145:17-20) Are you a true believer? Are you a doer of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves? (James 1:22) Take a position of asking, seeking, and knocking for the open hand of God. There is power in the hand of God to satisfy the desire of every living thing.
What is it about the hand of God?
Deliverance from the enemy and to prevail in the journey of life is power in the open hand of God. It was the hand of God that brought the children of Israel from slavery of over four hundred years (Deuteronomy 5:15).
Mockery to miracle is in the hand of God. The bible recorded in Luke 5:12-13, “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.”” Jesus’ hand cleansed mockery of the leprosy. Leprosy without any doubt is an agent of mockery. Is there any need for healing from sickness with experience of mockery that is denying you from taking a position of promotion? Ask, seek and knock for His hand that is opened for a true believer.
Meditate for His hand in this wicked world. Isaiah 59:1 testified about the hand of God, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save…” His hand is not short to deliver if there is devote to seek for His open hand.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of meditating on the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: In this new season, your desire is your choice.

Psalm 27, 145

In your new month, what do you wish or want from God? What is your desire? Psalmist declared, Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek…” In this new season, your desire is your choice. Making the right choice will set a man right on the journey of life. In this wicked of world where darkness has become increased, there is nothing that is worthy to desire but the hand of God. As a believer, trust and hope that the hand of God is mighty to deliver and His hand is great in restoration. It was the hand of God that delivered the Israelites out of bondage of over four hundred years. The hand of God preserved the Israelites through out of the journey from the rise and forces of the enemy in their journey.
God knows the end from the beginning when He forewarned Moses in Exodus 3:19-20, “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.  So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”  The hand of God is backed by the word of God. The hand of God is proven to perform. Without the hand of God in operation, it would have been impossible for the Israelites’ deliverance through Moses.
Allow this new season to be set in the heart by meditating prayerfully. Desire from God does not manifest by accident but it manifests by engaging God day and night through meditation. In the new season, meditate that you shall sing a new song through the months ahead of the life given you by God. The hand of God upon man’s life represents God’s presence that backs man up in every area of life. Meditating day and night for the hand of God is power to bring manifestation man’s desire.
In this new season desire for God to grant all your heart desires. In your new season, desire the hand of God to do a new thing in your life that will surprise everyone around you. In your desire, trust and hope for God to set your feet on a ground that will never sink. Also desire that you will not look up to man or run around for any help but on God. Do you know about God or do you know God? Only those who know God by separating to God are the anointed of God. The word of Psalm 20:6 buttressed, “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”  It is evident by the testimony of the psalmist that in the hand of God there is deliverance and preservation.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of desiring for God in all things.