FAITH CAPSULE: Man with the choice not to know God becomes short of benefits encased in knowing God.

Psalm 142, Daniel 6

With commitment to be giving God regard will build relationship with God. David was giving regard to God. David had relationship with God. A man’s relationship with God is what determines the kind of communication with God. David by virtue of his relationship with God, his communication was evident in his communications with God like when he stated, “I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. (Psalm 142:1-2) A man that does not know God cannot have a special relationship of communication with God.
Relationship with God is the evidence of knowing God.
In life, personalizing God is from giving regard to God constantly. Personalizing God builds up relationship with God. Relationship with God is an evidence of how much man knows God. Is it your desire to know God? God has given what it takes for man to be knowledgeable about Him. However, having knowledge of God is a choice and not by force. With the choice to know God is to be full of the knowledge of God and not lack knowledge of God. Just like David, Daniel had the knowledge of God. The bible testified about Daniel stating that those who know their God shall do exploit. (Daniel 11:32) Truly Daniel did exploit when he lived as an overcomer through four different unbelieving kings that could hurt or terminate his life. Daniel constantly gave regard to God. In captivity, he did not complain but he purposed in his heart not to defile himself with what is not of God. (Daniel 1:8) Daniel a man of God gave regard to God with his custom prayer approach to God. (Daniel 6:10) David, Daniel lived life as example of giving regard to God and knew God.
A man with the choice not to know God becomes short of benefit that is encased in knowing good gracious God. To lack knowledge of God is what makes man a vessel that perishes. The word of God stated it clearly, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6
Giving regard to God is very crucial to navigate through the wicked word. Give God regard and not be like ones that do not regard God. The bible cautioned, “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up Psalm 28:5.
Give God all your regard; become built in Him for your inheritance among the sanctified.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to live a life of relationship with God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not be hypocrite but live life to give God regard constantly.

Matthew 6

Seeking God is giving regard to God that is jealous. Exodus 34:14 identified God stating, “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” God also said in His commandment, “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” God desires, He deserves and He request from us to live life by giving Him regard with all our heart. Giving God regard at every breath is worthy as Psalm 150:6 stated, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Giving regard to God demands consistency not a casual approach. Giving regard to God can be likened to sowing and expecting to reap. How man sow determines what man reaps. In life, regardless how banana and plantain looks alike, it is not possible to sow banana and expects to reap plantain.
To fear God is to love God, to fear God is to seek God by giving Him constant regard. Deuteronomy 10:12 buttressed, “what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” To fear God is giving regard to God, it is taken a position for being pitied by God as psalmist stated, “As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13)
Giving regard to God can be described as thinking of God highly, giving God admiration and giving esteem to God. Giving regard to God is rooted in giving respect and honor to jealousy God. Jealousy God demands attention from His creation. His works or the operation of His hands should never be looked over but be given attention. Psalm 28:5 pointed out what a failure to regard God is about, “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.” (Psalm 28:5)
Giving regard to God is to do good which pleases God. When we move to regard God is not only when we are pressed down by challenges of world. When we want to give regard to God is to reach Him for the goodness of His awesomeness. Among way of doing good to please God are:
Charitable deeds which please God; approaching God with prayer that is not hypocritical; fasting to God without reservation but to give regard to God. Doing such good as mentioned are not only engaged in time of challenging situation but give attention to God for His awesomeness. Doing good to please God should not to impress man but to press further in relationship with God. Do not be hypocrite but live life to give God regard constantly.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to live life of giving Him a worthy regard.

FAITH CAPSULE: Stagnation not to move forward is an evidence of the agent of paralysis.

John 5:1-17                                                          

Bible recorded, ^“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.” (John 5:2-4) A ground where healing was taking place a certain paralyzed man with the paralysis of thirty eight years could not get his healing. The certain man was at right track for healing but was trapped at the healing track. The certain man was at Bethesda meaning, ‘House of mercy’ but yet there was no mercy in place for him to come out of his paralysis.
In any area of life where stagnation continues to hold man back from moving forward is an evidence of the agent of paralysis. For thirty eight years, at a breakthrough ground the certain man remained uncertain of breaking through to move forward. The certain man was on the ground of mercy because Bethesda means ‘House of mercy’ but mercy was not in place to address his paralysis. As one that believes in the goodness and mercy of God, does it concern your paralysis? Concerning the certain man, the bible recorded, “Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:5-7) At the breakthrough ground excuse is the holding force that holds many down. The certain man of paralysis has been held down for thirty eight years by the excuse of no man to put him into the pool.
Are you looking up to man for your help or are you looking up to Jesus for your breakthrough? Among the secret of breaking out of stagnation and not be a paralysis is to know and understand lifting up voice to God. The Psalmist stated, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.” It is time to stop directing voice to man but to direct voice to God and look up to God. Jesus is the only one who is able to pull man through, not man.

Prayer for today: Ask for mercy from the hand of God to bring you out of stagnation.

FAITH CAPSULE: The word of God in the bible is the manual to navigate through the journey of life.

Psalm 34

Life is a journey that is full of ups and down. God is good to perform His word for man that trust and hope in His word. It is written in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” In the journey of life, God did not plan evil to derail His future plan for man. In journey of life, challenges shall be in place but the grace of God is more than available and enough to make us to grow over challenges of the journey of life. The word of God in Psalm 34:19 is an assurance to persevere the challenges of journey knowing that, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” God always honors His word and He will not fail to perform it.
In the case of the Israelites’ journey of life through the wilderness, the Lord led them through the safest route. It was a route that avoided war with the forces of the enemy. The Lord’s route for them was to prevent them from becoming victim at the hands of enemy. God’s route was to keep them from a route that takes them from going back but forward. Is your present route taking you backward instead of forward because of the challenges ahead? Above all, God directed Israelites through a route where there would have been no reason for the Israelites from going back into the captivity of Egypt. Exodus 13:17-18 recorded, “Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.” In God’s deliverance of Israelites from entering a war route, they turned and entered to complaint and rebellious route. Disobedience against the promise of God’s leadership took charge of their journey. The Israelites failed to acknowledge the leadership of God.
Know that challenges will come to make up but not able to break you. Today, encourage yourself in the Lord; let it be clear to you that God will get you to where He is taking you if you do not step out of His command.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to follow through His route not by your own route.

FAITH CAPSULE: Giving thanks should not be based on feelings but on a regular basis.

Psalm 107

Regardless of past and present challenges, to see a new day is a great grace not a right. For a new day, turn to God and give thanks. Giving thanks to God is crucial; giving thanks to God should not be a casual way of appreciating God. Psalm 107:1 stated, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 92:1, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” The book of Revelation 11:17 also stated, “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.”
Give thanks to God always, give thanks for all things to God by not taken God for granted. How are you living a “thanks-giving” life? Word of God through the bible demonstrates the need for giving thanks always when situations are going the way we want it and when situations are not going the way we want it. Thanks giving should always be deep from the heart. It can be challenging to give thanks when confronting situation becomes exceedingly challenging and testing. Giving thanks to God should not be an every now and then sacrifice, it should be a regular sacrifice. Giving thanks should not be based on how you feel, but to fill your heart with thanking to God. Giving thanks should not be delivered to God only at times of convenience but it should be of commitment.
Do you know to give thanks to God for all things? One that knows to give thanks to God for all things will have all things work together for good as Romans 8:28 buttressed, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God…”
Are you taking to the word of God in part or in whole? The word of God is directly related and none of His word can be left out to achieve the purpose of another. John 6:63 stated, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” The word of God is spirit and when it is being done in us it becomes evidence that the Spirit of God dwells in us. The word of God is what we need to fill us; build us and position us to inherit our possession in Christ Jesus. Take to the word of God in whole by giving thanks for all things and all things will work together for good. In sincerity, begin to give thanks to God as a serious priority. Regardless of situation, give thanks always to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s enablement to live life of giving thanks to God.