FAITH CAPSULE: Before God, incomplete obedience is a full complete disobedience.

1 Samuel 15

Obedience demands commitment but denies convenience. Obedience is often demands agreement or submission. Think of it, obedience is sacrifice. The word of God demands full obedience without any excuse or compromise. Rising in response to the word of God is not enough without rising and moving in direct of the word of God.
King Saul was an example of rising in obedience to the word of God but could not answer fully in direction of the word of God.
God sent Samuel to Saul, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. ³ Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3) King Saul rose up in obedience but failed to fully answer to the word of direction. Saul spared some and destroyed as decided on his own against the word of God. Saul failed and was rejected by God.
Rising in obedience to the word of God is not enough without rising and going in the direction of the word of God. Many are failing to fully answer in the direction of God’s word. Jonah answered but failed to fully answer. It is written, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 ’Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” (Jonah 1:1-3) Jonah responded by hearing but followed the dictates of his heart.
Disobedience of Jonah led him in the belly of a fish. It was a dark place; an unfamiliar ground for Jonah. An act of disobedience is to be disoriented just as it was like Jonah’s incomplete obedience. So many have started in the calling of God but failed as incomplete before God.
Jonah knew he entered self-affliction; He called on God. Jonah 2:1-2, “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: ‘I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.”” God answered Jonah and his repentance to God delivered him from incomplete obedience. Full obedience is all that counts before God. Excuse for disobedience could not deliver King Saul. Before God, incomplete obedience is a full complete disobedience.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you and not be a failure.

FAITH CAPSULE: Is God taking you somewhere?

1Samuel 17

1 John 4:4-6 stated, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” The key here is, “…He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world…” Indeed, is He in you? In the world of there is giant harassment and there is giant intimidation taking a position to deny or derail destiny. If He is in you, giant of all kinds shall not prevail.
When David was to go and take on Goliath in battle, King Saul clothed David with his armor and all of his war gear. David could not walk from the weight of the gear and requested for all to be removed. He then took up his staff and five smooth stones from the brook along with his slings. He approached Goliath; Goliath disdained him; for he was only a youth, coming to fight him with sticks, 1Samuel 17:43, “So the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” David was not afraid and Goliath’s words and his size was not enough to cause doubt in David’s mind about what the Lord would do. David had a testimony that kept him going forward and not looking backward from the giant task, giant harassment and giant intimidation.
Giant situation took charge while David was on his way to where the Lord God was taking him. Is God taking you somewhere? He has a destination for all of His children just as He did for David. God is taking His children to a divine agenda just like when David responded to a giant situation in 1Samuel 17:45, “David responded, You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.”  David went with a weapon that was greater than the weapons of this world; he went with the Word of God which was in him. Is the Word in you? Is He in you? 1John 4:4 stated, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  Is He in you? If He is, depend on Him and you will surely overcome your Goliath just as David did.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of Word to have a place in you.

FAITH CAPSULE: Hear and do the word of God to see the miracle hand of God.

Deuteronomy 28

Obedience is to believe and do what God says. Having trust and hope in God is the demonstration of obedience to God. Obedience is like the door of blessing as stated, “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 28:2) Having trust and hope is the key of opening door of blessing stating, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7)
Obedience demands hearing and doing the word of God. The book of Philippians 4:9 established the importance of hearing and doing as obedience to God, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Are you obeying God to have the blessing of having the peace of God?
When man hears and heed the word of God man shall see miracle. Bible recorded, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.  And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.  For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.  And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:5-8)  Philip preached Christ (the Word of God), many heard and heed the word of God to see the miracle hand of God. With obedience by hearing and heeding, seeing miracle of the hand of God answers in the life of obedience.
With understanding the blessing of obeying the word of God also demands the need to understand the consequence of disobeying the word of God. In the life of journey, not hearing and heeding is taking to the route of curses. Deuteronomy 28:15 recorded, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”
God cannot be deceived, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.” (James 1:22-23)
Knowing that sacrificial service to God is good. However, sacrificial service is not enough if hearing and doing the word of God is not having a place in the life of man. Attend the word of God to know that, “…to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to hear and do as the word of God demands.

FAITH CAPSULE: If obedience is not in place, walking with the Lord shall not be possible.

Matthew 7:24-29, James 1:21-27

The only way to obey the word of God is encased in hearing and doing the word of God.
So many hears the word but almost none are doing the word of God.
So many quotes the word of God but not carry the word in the heart but on the head.
So many congregates in the name of God to hear the word but not to do the word of God. Are you a hearer of the word of God that constantly does the word?
The word of God stated as regard to hearing and doing the word, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9) “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.” (James 1:22-23)
A believer who is constantly disobedient to the word of God is like a car speeding in the dark with its headlights turned off. It will only take one moment for the driver to have his life terminated. How long would a driver continue to drive in the dark without the headlights on? The question is important and needs to be addressed. God is a merciful and jealous God who desires constant attention from His creation, Exodus 34:14, “For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” To gain the attention of a jealous God requires sincere and consistent obedience before His holy name. It does not matter who you are in the Lord, neither does it matter what role you play in the Kingdom of God’s business. If obedience is not in place, walking with the Lord shall not be possible.
Jesus’ mother and brothers received a warning that could have denied them their access to Him, “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You. But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:19-21) Do you desire to see Him when you look for Him just as His mother and brothers went to look for Him, or do you want to continue to ignore Him? There is a need to look for Him by calling on Him and making way to Him through consistent obedience to His word. There is no substitute for obeying the word of God. It is important for every believer to observe the word of God by hearing and doing the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to always hear and be a doer of the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: A proud look; a lying tongue is among hates before the Lord.

Proverbs 6

Pride look can be clearly read in the mind of man. It is a saying that man’s look is the entrance into man’s mind. Ability to read pride in the look of man can reveal the evidence of arrogant; lack of no spirit of humility in the life of man. Proverbs 13:10 talked about pride, “By pride comes nothing but strife…” In life, there is nothing in strife but brewing disagreement, contrariety, opposition, fight and conflict. Strife from pride takes away peace in man. Word is pointing out among us that nothing in pride is good of God. Proverbs 16:18 makes us to know that “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Pride is not of good but of hate before God.
Jesus talked about pride, “What comes out of a man that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:20-22) Evidently, Jesus identified pride in the company of evil things. Jesus said evil things come from within and defile a man. Pride is evil thing from within and it defiles man. Pride will set man away from God. Do you have a pride look which God hates?
A lying tongue:
Hating others is not of God and should not be an identity of man that believes in good God. Man does have skill of claiming God but hiding hatreds. The word of God declares, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips…” (Proverbs 10:18) Does the word speak of you as one with lying tongue? Good God hates lying and it is abomination to God. Lying is deceit, lying is evil; lying is of wicked with no good. Proverbs 12:18-22 compared truth and lying’s tongue, “The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” It is worthy for every man to make the choice of truthful lip which is good but not of lying tongue which is evil that does not glorify God. The book of Ephesians 4:25 warned, “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” Man should consciously disallow lying tongue. By all standard of God’s expectation, man should do good in all ways that give glory to the name of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to walk against goodness of God.