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.

FAITH CAPSULE: Fear and doubt are agents of rebellious act.

Numbers 14

“So the LORD’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.” (Numbers 32:13) Fear and doubt are agents of rebellious act. To be rebellious does nothing good but leads man to wander and die where there is life. Thank God for the blood that was shed on the Calvary. If not the blood of Jesus, many of us would probably have been gone before birth. God was displeased with the children of Israel that saw the wondrous act of His outstretch hand which brought them out of the bondage of over four hundred years. Above all, they saw how the Red Sea gave way for a passage on a dry land. Despite all the manifestation of God’s hand which they saw, they could not see their Promised Land but died wandering in the wilderness. The bible says it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrew 11:6) God was displeased for lack of faith and trust in Him. The children of Israel entered into fear and then complaint became their make-up when they failed to see the land as promised by God. As a result the Lord declared, “They shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.”(Numbers 14:23)
An act of complaint is what gives ground to rebellious act. The children of Israel saw it all and it was for them to see it through but they faltered because they lack faith. The same fear, doubt and complain that got the children of Israel stranded is still denying blessings of God wherever there is lack of faith. The same deceiver has not changed and he is still in operation and his mission is to steal, kill, and destroy. Indeed, he stole what was in place for the children of Israel (Promised Land), he got them killed, and generations were destroyed. The act of rebellion is evil before God. Before the deceiver killed and destroyed, he caused their wandering when they should have been moving forward. The children of Israel wandered for forty years until all generations that did evil in the sight of the Lord died. Do you have a feeling or sense that you are wandering where you suppose to be a wonder to your world? Are you moving forward or are you stagnant in your journey of life? Thank God for the blood that was shed on the Calvary.

Prayer for today: Ask the Lord to draw you near if you have consciously or unconsciously withdrawn from Him. He is a merciful God and He will answer because the Blood of Jesus Christ is in place for salvation. Avoid wandering, move forward and enter into the promises of God for your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is your understanding in the word of God that will fuel you in the journey of life.

Genesis 2: 15-24, 3

It matters and it is very important to know and be able to apply understanding that Jesus brought to us as a free gift of salvation. “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.” (John 10:10) Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, the One that gives and can also take life, the Alpha and the Omega said in His word that He has come to give life. He is not just coming; He has already come to give life and to give it more abundantly. However, if by the way of living the ones that are to take the abundant life are not receiving what has been brought to them by not making themselves available, it becomes a sorry story. Have you positioned yourself in the place of receiving abundant life that He came to give you? One thing is to have an understanding of what has been given to you and do what it takes to receive it fully. Another scene is to lack an understanding of the life He came to give and not able to receive and live abundantly but redundantly. Adam and Eve, a sorry story, had it given to them but could not retain what was given to them because they lacked understanding that was to give them an edge over the challenge of temptation. It is written in Genesis 2:15, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely;  “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it you shall surely die.”” Adam and Eve lacked in what it takes to respond accordingly when God gave them the command that will preserve and keep them forever.
Obeying God’s command was to give them life while disobeying God’s command was meant by the enemy to steal, kill and destroy. The serpent came and turned the word of God upside down so that Adam and Eve could fall and not receive all the provisions of God. The same serpent is the one you encounter on a daily and regular basis. How are you positioning yourself daily in the journey of life? It is only your understanding in the word of God that will be fueling you in the journey of life for protection against the one that has come to steal, kill, and destroy. With understanding, having a knowing-edge (Knowledge) over all devices of the thief will not be an issue.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His goodness and mercy and not to become a victim of the thief.