FAITH CAPSULE: You may have the clock in your hand but God only moves by His time.

Luke 1

There will always be reason to be afraid but reacting in fear results in reducing our faith.  Every time faith is reduced, fear will increase and God will withdraw. The appearance of Pharaoh and his army charging at the Israelites at the Red Sea called for enough reason to be afraid but not to react by giving in to fear. With fear they confessed negatives saying, “…Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Numbers 14:11-12) The Israelites waited for their miracle breakthrough but they could not celebrate it and died in the wilderness except for Caleb and Joshua. God is not pleased when faith ceases.
God remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Zacharias a priest whose wife Elizabeth, was trusting God for the fruit of the womb, did not believe when at the appointed time for manifestation of his prayer an angel of the Lord appeared to him. At the appearance of the angel, he was afraid. The Bible recorded, “And When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.” (Luke 1:12) Indeed, there was reason to be afraid, but allowing fear to trouble him reduced his faith. Despite his fear, the angel encouraged him, “…Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John…”(Luke 1:13-14) Zacharias prayed and God answered, but failed to celebrate when he began to question the angel, “…How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” (Luke 1:18) Just as his reaction was displeasing to God, so it was displeasing to the angel and he was prompted to pronounce the spirit of muteness and inability to speak upon him until the time of the birth of his son John. Are you holding on to your expectation from your prayer? You may have the clock in your hand but God only moves by His time. When manifestation is delayed by days, weeks, months or years, today is not the time to give up. God is also a God of the eleventh hour. Take to the word of God because it works. Present your request through prayer, position yourself by meditating and you will celebrate and not be mute and speechless when your miracle shows forth.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to keep you from giving up hope.

FAITH CAPSULE: Have you receive and believe in Him? It is possible to believe Him and not receive Him.

John 1:1-28

Jesus declared in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Jesus is not just coming to give life, He came already and it is for us to take all that He brought for us. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) Jesus is the grace of our Lord God for every man that chose to believe and receive Him. John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)  Knowing about Him is different from knowing Him. Those that know Him know Him enough to receive and believe in Him as their Lord and savior. Have you receive and believe in Him? It is possible to believe Him and not receive Him. Many saw and many heard about the work He did, they know about Him but they choose not to receive Him as their Lord and savior. For example, “…Among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”(John 12:42)
Inability to confess Him is a demonstration of not having received Him. To confess Christ is living a life that demonstrates the confession that is made about Him. Jesus is the unconditional love of God, the grace of God that came to give life abundantly to those that care to receive and believe in Him. Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,” Clearly Jesus is the unconditional love of God and the grace that came for us. However, to enter into the unconditional love of God, there is a need for us to condition ourselves by taking the right position. Taking the right position will deliver unto us the fullness of His abundance grace. Positions to be taken are: to love and to be forgiving. As a believer that worships the living God, we are to love and not hate. Many times in the pages of the Bible, the command to love is constantly and repeatedly emphasized. We are to love our neighbors and to know how to forgive, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18) Clearly loving and forgiving cannot be separated neither can the love for God be compromised.

Prayer for today: Ask for the hand of God to help in living according to the word of God. Ask that the grace of God that brought you this far not to expire in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God.

Jeremiah 48:1-20

God was speaking against Moab in the book of Jeremiah 48:7, “For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity.” (Chemosh: The chief deity of Moab.) It was a great judgment against Moab and it is worthy of our attention and sincere meditation so that it will enable us to observe where we are placing our trust. The judgment against Chemosh should be a strong warning for all that believes and also to unbelievers that God should be constantly and consistently acknowledged with thanks and praise for all that He enables us to do on a regular basis.  Failure to acknowledge Him demonstrates that we trust and rely on our own self-effort as strength. It is clear that the people of Moab could have resolved to self-sufficiency whereby looking to their work and treasure as a measure of self-effort. A dangerous way to captivity is to assume self-effort as strength and source of blessing. God alone is our source.
God wants to be glorified and exalted for every blessing that comes our way. He is a jealous God and He will not take it well with any soul who chooses not to acknowledge Him for His goodness and mercy. God spoke in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the LORD.” How clear and loud can we possibly hear this from the Lord God that He wants to be glorified by us? Have you been counting on self-effort as your source? It is time that you count your blessings; name them one by one and let God take all the entire honor and glory. Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God. The Moabites might not be around to tell us what is was like to end up in captivity after having been in control of treasures,  but  what the bible tells us is enough  to learn and live to the glory of God. Do not give away all that He has blessed you with. Turn around and give Him all the glory and honor that belongs to Him; not to your efforts. Go and glorify Him in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Lift up your hands in thanks giving and praise to the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

FAITH CAPSULE: Keeping quiet and not sharing the testimonies of God is same as shutting your miracle door.

Psalm 91

What do you have to say about God? What you have to say about God is your testimony of God. Psalm 119:2, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” Psalm 119:22 “Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.” What do you have to say about God? What you have heard people say is not the question. Also what you have joined others in saying is not what you need to answer. What is it that you can say of God? The Psalmist says, I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:2) What the Psalmist is saying here is that God, is his shelter and protection from danger and difficulty. Before the Psalmist could say what he said, he must have known something about Him. If you do not know Him you will have nothing to say to yourself about Him. It is not enough to know God through what others know about God. The Psalmist knows the Lord as the author and finisher of His life, the beginning and the end. The One and only that can fight his battles for him without him raising hand for a moment.
Above all else, he knew Him as the one that is worthy to be trusted, the One to count on in every moment and every situation, the One to wait on for direction and deliverance also for provision and preservation. The Psalmist knew Him well enough to personalize Him by stating, “My God in Him I will trust.”  Personalizing God is a demonstration of understanding God and having knowledge about Him. By virtue of knowledge and understanding of the Lord, the Psalmist declared a statement of certainty saying; “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:3-4) When the covering of God is upon our life, provision and every other area of need, such as protection from danger, will not cease to flow in our life. Keeping quiet and not sharing the testimonies of God is same as shutting your miracle door. Speak of His testimonies even when your miracle is yet at hand. Psalm 119:46, “I will speak of your testimonies also before kings.” There should be no limitation declaring His testimonies. God is a faithful God; declare His testimonies and He will not deny your transformation.

Prayer for today: Look upon me and be merciful to me as Your custom is. Lord, make me to love declaring your testimonies.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not allow your affliction lead you into settling for less.

Genesis 40, 41:1-14

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19) The Psalmist is talking about the righteous and not the wicked. Righteous ones are the ones that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior. Righteous ones are ones that operates the knowledge of God through the grace of God. As one that has submitted unto Jesus, you wonder why your situation continues to be from one affliction to another affliction. What the Psalmist is saying here is, as a believer that is having challenges, you are not alone, you are not the first and you will not be the last to be in the kind of situation that could generate doubt in your faith. However, where doubt and fear is being generated, you operate hope and faith that pleases God.
In your affliction, know that you are coming out to enter your season of deliverance. Do not misplace your focus on God because He is the only one that will deliver you at His own appointed time. Joseph, at a young age, went into the pit of no water or survival, sold to slavery in Egypt, from slavery to prison for an offense that he had not committed. Despite his coming out from one affliction and entering into another affliction, there was no record of complaining or questioning God, and he overcame. In your affliction who are you calling or looking up to besides God? However, if your call is being placed onto God, be rest assured that all is well. The Bible recorded many more afflictions but all in different forms. In your affliction let your only place of expectation for help be from God. After Joseph had revealed a positive dream to the butler, he requested kindness from the butler when he stated, “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.” (Genesis 40:14) Kindness and mercy only come from God.
Is there any wrong place where you are hoping for deliverance to come? Take it all unto the Lord and He will not fail to deliver you from your affliction. The butler did not remember Joseph for two years. The butler could only remember Joseph when Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. It took two years for the butler to remember; it was God’s timing, not the butler’s. After two years Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and his story was changed to good forever.  Do not allow your affliction lead you into settling for less. With God all things and nothing can be impossible because God desires to deliver the righteous from affliction.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deposit His knowledge that delivers into your life.