Faith Capsule: Are you one of those who want to show on the outside while the inside is far from God?

Matthew 23

Many are very impressive on the outside but the inside is nothing to write about. The outside presents God but the inside exempts God. What man sees about a believer is not same as what God sees. Also, how God sees man is not same how man sees man. Are you one whose outward appearance looks impressive to man by virtue of their commitment but far from God? Jesus identified a group of people whose life style matches impressing man but not God as hypocrites. In the days of Jesus, He talked about the scribes and the Pharisees stating, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” The Pharisees were one of the major sect or special – interest groups among the Jews during the days of the New Testament. Pharisees, meaning separated ones, believed that religious rituals and separation from sinners were the way to please God. Matters such as the laws of tithing and ritual purity were very important to the Pharisees. Are you one who shows God on the outside while the inside is far from God?
Are you a modern day Pharisees that will offer more than what is requested for the outside while the inside is not being attended to? Today, every believer does have a need for serious self-examination. Man can be deceived but God cannot be deceived. It is possible to come in to fellowship presenting self on the outside as holy while the inside is dirty and far from God. It does not matter how long man gets away with hypocrisy but it is important for man to know that nothing is hidden from God and God does not overlook sin. It is evil to have inside that is far from God. Man should know that “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
Paying attention and asking God like the psalmist did is a way of getting one back to God. Psalm stated in Psalm 19:12-13, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.” God is a God that does not look from outside to inside, but rather looks from the inside to the outside. It is time for self-examination in order to be on the Lord side.

Prayer for today: As God to deliver you so that sin will not have dominion over your life.

Faith Capsule: Living by the word of God is what it means to love God with all our heart

Genesis 39

It is written, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (Timothy 3:16-17) God is God that does not waste word. All scripture, is written for our learning. Taking to all is what will make man complete and equipped for every good work. Today, it is hard to see a complete or equipped believer. Evidently, the scripture given by God has been neglected. Just like pieces of puzzle so is the word of God in the pages of the bible. Indeed, if a puzzle is not complete because of any missing piece, a true picture shall not be revealed. Acclaimed believers are not representing the word of God and that makes it difficult to see the picture of what God says in so many. Every written word is profitable if written word is thoroughly engaged.
Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” It is a command to love God. In the command, a standard of how to love is required. Loving God is not about how one feels God should be love. God is to be love with all heart, all soul and with all strength. According to instruction for loving God, do you love God?
Joseph could not demonstrate a partial love for God when he refused to violate God by sleeping with his master’s wife. The scripture recorded about Joseph and his master’s wife approach, “So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,  that she caught him by his garment, saying, and “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.” (Genesis 39:10-12) The wife of Joseph’s master lied on Joseph and it landed Joseph in prison. Joseph stated the reason why he could not sleep with his master’s wife, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Joseph demonstrated what it means to love God with all his heart and it became profitable for Joseph because the bible stated, “…The Lord was with him; and whatever he did the Lord made it prosper.” (Genesis 39:22) Living by the word of God is what it means to love God with all our heart; all our soul and all our strength. It is not an impossible task. If it is impossible, God would not have commanded us to love with all.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of full obedience to God.

Faith Capsule: Failure to keep testimonies terminated the Israelites in the wilderness.

1 Samuel 17

The word of God that never fails promised, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2) There is good in keeping testimonies of God and there is evil in not keeping His testimonies.
The good of keeping the testimonies of God are evident in David’s life:
David waged a victorious war against Goliath through testimonies. (1Samuel 17:33-47)
David kept God’s testimonies and sought the Lord with the whole heart and God declared him as a man after His own heart (1Samuel 13:14)
David kept the testimonies of God and sought God when he went all out against Goliath. It was the testimonies of God that granted David the permission to go after Goliath when he spoke to King Saul “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine and Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”” (1 Samuel17:36-37)
At the time he was to unleash his force against Goliath, he spoke in Goliath’s face, “Then David said to the Philistine, “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 defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:45-46)
The evil of not keeping the testimonies of God is evident in the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness:
The failure to keep His testimonies terminated the Israelites journey in the wilderness. Act of complaining is avenue to termination. Rebellion is encased in complaining. Due to their incessant complaining against what God was doing in their life, God responded in Numbers 14:22-23, “Because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.” God promised to take them to the Promised Land. He showed them great and mighty signs in Egypt, and on their way out of Egypt but they could not remember to cling to God’s testimonies.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know and be a keeper of God’s testimonies.

Faith Capsule: Truly, the fear of God is what makes man to be complete in God.

Jeremiah 32

To fear God is not just a word of mouth but living life in awe of Him. Many claims to fear God but it is worthy for individual to take a close look from the inside to the outside, to see if there is a sincere and genuine fear of God reigning and ruling one’s life. The word of God testified in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” If the kind of wisdom one is operating is rooted in the fear of God, one is set for great exploit in life. Above all, one that truly fears God will live heaven on earth. Godly wisdom that is encased in the fear of God cannot be substituted neither can it be faked. It is the wisdom gained in the fear of God that reveals the knowledge of the Holy One.
Do you truly fear Him?
Proverbs 19:23 stated, “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.” The fear of God will give life in the place of death. With the fear of God, abiding in dissatisfaction is not a possibility. With the fear of God, satisfaction in every area of life will be evident in the life of one that fears God. The fear of God is what places man out of the reach of the evil one. The fear of God in the life of many giants in the hand of God is what made their testimonies unique ones.
God testified that it was His fear that made Abraham and it was confirmed in his obedience to God’s request for Isaac to be sacrificed. At the time of sacrificing Isaac, Abraham was commanded, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12)
The fear of God is what will make the difference in the life of every man that passes through the face of earth. Do you truly fear God or do you think you fear God? To know God is to fear Him. Ecclesiastes12: 13-14 stated, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.”  God deserves to be feared. He alone is the Creator, the Almighty God. Do you fear Him? Ones that does not fear God despises His word and disregard His command. It is the fear of God in the heart of man that makes man not to depart from God. Truly, the fear of God is what makes man to be complete in God.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s fear to overtake you in every area of your life.

Faith Capsule: it can never be too late waiting on God for miracle visitation.

Acts 12:1-25

Miracle is defined as an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. Miracle is sometimes translated as signs, wonders which carry out God’s purpose. Miracle is God waiting to make His move when every breakthrough possibility appears to be stalled. When miracles happen it is not because we know how to make it happens, but because God knows what He wants to do for His name to be glorified. Often, miracle could be prayer provoked or grace in place. Miracle is miracle not luck. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and God is still in the business of miracles.
Is there any area of life that seems like every possibility of breakthrough has been stalled? With God there is always a way out. It will always be too early to give up but it can never be too late waiting on God for miracle visitation.
Among many other miracles that were recorded, is the miracle of Peter. He was set for death by King Herod who had earlier killed James the brother of John. Without any way of escape, Peter was supposed to be King Herod’s next victim. The bible recorded, “And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seizes Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.” (Acts 12:3-5) To make his death sentence easier for Herod, Peter was asleep and not praying. In the case of Peter, the prayers of brethren received the attention of heaven.
It is written, “And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” (Acts 12:6-8) Peter walked into salvation and he was delivered from the hand of sudden and untimely death. Remind God, concerning the works of His hands, and He will not relent concerning your confronting issues.

Prayer for today: Ask God not to withhold His merciful miracle concerning every area where there is need for deliverance and preservation in your life.