FAITH CAPSULE: In the place of stagnation, it is time to call on Jesus for His divine intervention.

Mark 10:46-52

It is written, as Jesus went out of Jericho, “…with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46-47) Blindness of Bartimaeus placed him in stagnation. With blindness there will be no sight that is needed for man to see when there is need to take the right direction. Evidently when there is no seeing one will remain stagnated making limited or making no choice in life. Blind Bartimaeus stagnated and had his place on the road side to beg.
In life, when a man is blinded in the physical eyes so it is possible for a man to be blind in the spiritual eyes. As a road side blind man, blind Bartimaeus was popular enough that his father’s name could be identified (Timaeus) yet he could not see. Road side which served as avenue for transformation in the life of man is same road where blind Bartimaeus remained stagnated with no transformation.
Are you experiencing stagnation in any form in the journey of your life?
In any form of stagnation, it is time you call on Jesus for His divine intervention. Thank God for the blood of Jesus that was shed on the Calvary. The shedding of the blood of Jesus is what has made Jesus to be everywhere at every time and ready to answer to every call. During the days of blind Bartimaeus, while Jesus was moving from one location to another location blind Bartimaeus was in the right location to encounter Jesus when he cried out loud for mercy. It could be that it is time for you to identify and accept that your condition needs a loud cry to Jesus. When you cry out to Jesus, ignore the multitude from keeping you quiet. When you cry, call Jesus out as One that you know not as One that you only know about. There is a different between knowing Jesus from knowing about Jesus. Bartimaeus demonstrated that he did not just know about Jesus when he called out Jesus with knowledge. Bartimaeus had the knowledge to cry out as he stated, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” In the calling of Bartimaeus, “…Jesus stood still and commanded Him to be called” (Mark 10:49) The Blind man received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 10:52) Bartimaeus came out of stagnation; he became a follower of Jesus. Knowing Jesus is to believe Him to break all cause of stagnation.

Prayer for today: Know God to ask for open the eyes of your heart.

FAITH CAPSULE: Keep looking up to God that there is no way to be ashamed.

2 Timothy 4

The name of the Lord God is undisputable deliverer. His name is sure strong enough to look upon for deliverance and preservation. Also, looking up to the name of God is running to Him. Proverbs 18:10 declared, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Truly love God to look up to Him. God is a good God that will look upon those who look up to Him as the Psalmist stated, “Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name.” (Psalm 119:132)
Looking up to man is looking away from God. Looking up to man will disappoint man; looking up to man will delay and displace man in the journey of life. Word of man is not true to deliver but it is a proven deceiver.
Believe without doubt; look up to God and know that God is true to deliver. Keep looking up to God that there is no way to be ashamed. God is not a liar; the word of God is a true way to move forward. Word testified, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30) Do not be a failure by not looking up at His awesomeness. Look up at Him because there is none like Him. The book of Isaiah 64:3-4 confirmed rightly, “When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” God is worthy to be looked up at all time.
God is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14) Worshiping Him is looking up at Him. Worshiping Him is seeking Him and the word buttressed, “…If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9) When a jealous God is looked up, His attention shall be activated. In His attention to man that look up at Him there is deliverance and preservation for man in this wicked world. The apostle Paul was forsaken; he experienced man’s abandonment but he stated, “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2Timoth 4:18)
In this wicked world of today, many worthless things surrounds man to look away from God. Do not look away from God, adapt to the word of God as it is written, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.” (Psalm 119:37)
Prayer for today: Ask God to keep you looking up to Him alone.

FAITH CAPSULE: Take to looking up to God instead of looking up to man.

Psalm 34

God is a gracious merciful God. Who do you remember to look up to? Psalm 20:7 stated, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Lifting up our eyes to God is a demonstration of having full confidence to trust in Him. Our confidence should be in God. To fear God and have faith is what pleases God. Lifting up our eyes is giving a jealous God the attention that it takes for Him to attend to us. The Psalmist stated, “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.” (Psalm 123:1-2) Emphasis for the request for mercy by the Psalmist is evidence of the reason for his dependency on God. Without doubt, constant and consistency in the word of God leads to way of loving God and obeying God’s commandment. Exodus 20:6, “…but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” It is clear that obtaining His mercy is in obeying His command. Every time we seek the face of God we are waiting on Him with the expectation that there is no any other one to depend on but Him.
It is written, Isaiah 64:4, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” God will act when we seek Him. Have you been looking to man to act on your behalf? God that is clothe with majesty and honor is the only God that is worthy to be looked up to. When we put our confidence in God it is saying that He is embracing us in the palm of His hands. The Psalmist must have been looking up to Him with understanding that God will look upon him when he stated, “Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name.” (Psalm 119:132) Do you love the name of God or your love for man to help? To love God it is clear to God and He shall visit you. Look up to God by obtaining the mercy of God. Looking up to God is maintaining our deliverance from every form of shame. Psalm 34:5, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” It is never too late to turn around looking up to God instead of looking to man.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to hide His face from you in the day of your going and coming.

FAITH CAPSULE: Insist and resist the enemy against open door.

Mark 5

Seeking the face of God for breakthrough over concerning challenge demands from man to insist and resist. The enemy is stubborn to deny man’s breakthrough. God is a good God that opens door for man while the enemy takes a position to shut down man’s open door. Testimony of Apostle Paul is an evidence that enemy does not have respect for no man in his business to deny open doors of breakthrough. Paul stated, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (1 Corinthians 16:9) Do you know if your open door of breakthrough is the enemy’s attempt to deny? As a believer, there is a need to insist and resist the enemy before God.
Jairus insist and resist the enemy for his daughter’s open door of healing from untimely death when he came to Jesus. The bible recorded, “…And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, ‘My daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.’” (Mark 5:22-23) Demonstration of the ruler of the synagogue before Jesus was an evidence of his insist and resist getting the attention of Jesus.
Jairus as one of the ruler of the synagogue, pride could have been the agent of the enemy to shut open door of deliverance for Jairus’ daughter in the hand of sudden death. However, Jairus put aside his religious title that could not measure to the task of delivering his daughter. Jairus did three things to have open door answered for his daughter’s deliverance.
First, he met Jesus at the right location, which was the crossing point. Your crossing point could be at the ground of fellow-shipping. Often times, many have missed their crossing point because of title (pride). Jairus disallowed his title to deny his miracle healing for his daughter. In life, it does not matter how long it takes manifestation of expectation, insist and resist on your God’s visitation.
Secondly, Jairus saw Jesus and he took a step of faith. Jairus’ stepping out of multitude caused him to have a direct contact with Jesus. Jesus knows all things and Jairus’ need was not strange to Jesus. His stepping out and seeing Jesus was a renunciation of being a part of the multitude with pride. Just like Jairus, allow Jesus to see you in your need and not just a multitude.
Thirdly, Jairus fell at His feet. He laid it all unto Jesus. Imagine Jairus begging earnestly for the life of his daughter saying, “Here I am, a poor religious leader, have mercy on my dying daughter.” Jairus at the feet of Jesus made his request without giving attention to his title. Pride could not shut open door for Jairus’ daughter healing.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s hand to answer against agent that shuts open door.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is important to know that enemy is in the business to disrupt man’s preparation.

Joshua 1

The process of journey is what will prepare man for God’s provision. In the journey of man the enemy is always on track to deny man’s expected end. The enemy is stubborn not to give up wicked agenda. Devil is the master of wickedness and was stubbornly wicked in his attempt of Jesus. Jesus’ process of journey was prayed for forty days. At the time of coming out of His forty days of fast, the devil repeatedly tempted Jesus but failed. The book of Luke 4:13 recorded, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” The devil promised not to give up but will always seek an opportune time. Have you accepted Jesus? Accepting Christ is not an indication that man is free from sin. In the journey of life, sin will not go away as long as the devil is around.
The Israelites had the backing of God and the promise of God for the milk and honey land but sin was a warning not to derail the Israelites journey. God warned against failure for the enemy, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God.  According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.”(Leviticus 18:1-5) God sees the future. God pointed out He was bringing the children of Israel out of bondage (Egypt) a land of sin as he was taking them to Canaan the land of opportunity. The coming out of the land of sin and going into the land where sin exists depicts the journey of every believer. However, the journey from Egypt to Canaan is the process and preparation for provision. The process of journey is what will prepare every man for God’s provision. It is important to know that enemy is in the business to disrupt man’s preparation for the possession of God’s promise.
Adapting to meditating the word of God as stated in Joshua 1 is the way of observing the word of God and not be a victim of the devil. Jesus our example responded to the devil by the word of God as it is written in the bible. Jesus repeatedly shut down the enemy’s temptation of the devil through the word of God. Meditate the word of God and be able to observe and do the word.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His word to be established in your heart.