Faith Capsule: One that abides in Him will behave like Him.

John 8:31-59

Abide is to continue in a relationship without yielding or submitting. To abide in Jesus is what Jesus demands from everyone that believes in Him. The book of John 8:31 recorded, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”” Manifestly, claiming to be a believer and not abide in Him is a joke, it mere religion that adds nothing to man. Many, if not majority of believer’s life today does not demonstrate the testimony of one that is abiding in Jesus.
Think of it for a moment, dose your life demonstrates the word of Jesus? Failure to abide in Him is rooted in pride which has become the garment of acclaimed believers.
What does it mean to abide in Jesus?
1 John 3:24, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” To keep the commands of God is to love. Galatians 5:14 admonished us, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” Romans 13:8 also stated, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
What happens when one does not abide in Him?
-John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To whom the truth is threatening, knowing to accept the truth is almost impossible except God reach out to such. Those who receive the truth as threat are ones that always think they are being picked on and they often refuses to listen and accept the truth. As a result, they are under bondage of pride; they are not free thinking they are free. Above all, they are difficult to be corrected or redirected.
–Those who do not abide in Him are rebellious. Evidently, they do not know the ways of God but thinking they are the ones that knows better. Job 24:13 buttressed “There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths.” Jesus is the wisdom from God for us. Why don’t you give your ears to hearing the rebukes of life just like Proverbs 15:31 admonished, “The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise.”
–A failure to abide in Him is a passage to living life in darkness. In John 12:46, Jesus said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” Evidently, it is not possible to be answering as acclaimed believer and be full of darkness. To be full of darkness is abiding in darkness. Desire the grace to abide in Him, God will deposit in you what it takes to abide in Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to abide in Him.

Faith Capsule: God we serve sees the heart to reward or withdraw from man.

Ruth 1, 2

Serving God without pure conscience is wasting time claiming to be a believer. Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy testified to the need for serving with good conscience when he stated, “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day.” (2Timothy 1:3) In every way of claiming to be a believer, are you serving with good conscience or serving with self-centered intention? Interestingly, the word admonished us, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1Timothy 1:5) Have you really searched your heart and know that every way of living life good conscience is strange to you? Man can be deceived but God cannot. One’s with good conscience acts on every ground or every engagement with sincerity. Action is what reveals man’s heart and the God we serve sees the heart to reward or withdraw from man. The book of 1 Samuel 2:3 stated, “…the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” Man’s conscience is encased in man’s action. With good conscience comes genuine and sincere engagement or act towards others.
Boaz was a relative of Naomi’s husband (Naomi was the mother in-law of Ruth). He was described as a man of great wealth. When Boaz met Ruth, she put in place uncommon favor to protect and provide for her. Ruth responded to the favor, “So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, ’Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?’” (Ruth 2:10) Ruth’s genuine and sincerity from a good conscience positioned her for uncommon favor.
Ruth`s good conscience caused her to genuinely and sincerely refused to turn her back and go away from Naomi at the time Naomi was going back to her family after the death of her two sons. By Ruth’s act of sincerity, she positioned herself to encounter favor. Ruth questioned such favor, Boaz responded, “…It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The LORD repay your work and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.’” In this world, there is nothing that goes unnoticed before God. Act of faith is the evidence of believe. To believe is to work the works of God. (John 6:28-29) Ruth being genuine and sincere worked the works of God and got rewarded by the Lord God of Israel.

Prayer for today: Ask God to bestow upon you to consistently exercise good conscience in all your ways of living life.   

Faith Capsule: Are you agreeing with negative by seeing and confessing negative instead of positive?

Joshua 6

As an acclaimed believer, when every step in life is rooted in faith one is set to be a winner over one’s world. As an acclaimed believer how you see will determine how much you possess; how you talk will determine what answers for you; how you hear will determine what you receive. Indeed, faith is the power to propel and progress in the journey of life.
As an acclaimed believer, it is important to know that out of the abundance of the heart not only does the mouth speak but the eyes see. The book of Exodus 2:1-2 recorded, “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.  So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.” (Exodus 2:1-2) The child was born at a time when every other parent could not see beauty because of the killing of the Hebrew sons. The mother of Moses saw that he is beautiful and she could not present him as a victim of Pharaoh’s death sentence when she hid him for three months. As an acclaimed believer, one does not have to see things like others see. With faith, one can see deliverance in the place of destruction; one can see miracle in the place of obstacle; one can see motion in the place of stagnation.
When the Red Sea could not deny the children of Israel from getting to the Promised Land, Jericho attempted to deny them but failed. It is written, “Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.  And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:1-2) All that made the difference for the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua was that Joshua saw victory when it was yet at hand. Joshua had faith and Jericho failed to deny the Israelites.
The bible recorded, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) What are you saying concerning the challenges before you? In the face of negative are you agreeing with negative by confessing negative? It is important to know and constantly know to confess positive regardless of how much negative is written over challenges. The song says, “Let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am reach.” What is your confession? It is important to know and adapt to seeing and confessing positive in the place of negative knowing that God is committed to doing good and not evil.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of enablement to constantly see and say right even when challenges persist.

Faith Capsule: Busy engagement disconnects man from God but word engagement connects man to God.

Psalm 14, Luke 10:38-42

It is a great privilege to have Jesus welcomed into one’s house but it is not enough if one is occupied with busy engagement. It is written, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” (Luke 10:38-39)
Martha welcomed Jesus, but was engaged with unreasonably service and could not receive from Jesus. Any service that takes a believer from receiving whenever Jesus is in the house is evidently an unreasonable service. While Martha was busy serving Jesus, Mary busy receiving all that matters, all which could build her up. Mary committed herself to the word of God. Welcoming Jesus into one’s house without committing to the word of God can be compared to buying a land and not converting it to a building. The word was in the house but Martha was not committed to the word because of her busy engagement.
Apostle Paul recommended, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) There is nothing wrong in serving the Lord, but so much is wrong when serving takes away the believer from receiving the word of God which builds man. Today many are busy serving in different areas but the word of God is not touching different areas of their lives. The bible recorded, “But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” (Luke 10:40) Martha recognized that her service was nothing but distraction was taking her away from what she needed to be getting from the Master. It is very possible that leaders can be impressed by service they observed in every server, but it is important to know that reasonable service counts more before the Master of all.
Martha realizing her deficit, decided to take her case to the Master, “And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” (Luke 10:41) Worrying is not of the Lord; it is an evidence of anxiousness the opposite of worshiping the Lord. Jesus pointed out that Martha misplaced priority when He spoke to her, “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42) Busy engagement shall surely take away man from God. However, the word of God that is good will take man to where God wants for man.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from whatever is taking you away from God consciously or unconsciously.

Faith Capsule: Do not be afraid, disallow fear from raiding you.

Exodus 14

Whenever fear invades, confusion and making wrong, destructive decisions prevails. The invasion of fear into the life of King Saul caused him to entertain fear that eventually terminated his journey to having a fulfilled life. What is it that is granting fear access into your life? As an acclaimed believer that claims to love God, you can hold on to the truth in the word just like the Psalmist did by calling on God, “Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name.”(Psalm 119:132) Do you truly love His name? To love the name of God is to love God by obeying His command. In the mercy of God there is direction that keeps man from becoming a victim of taking wrong steps which disallow iniquity from having dominion over the life of man.
The book of 1 Samuel 28:4-5 documented the source of fear that derailed Saul in the track of living a fulfilled life to the glory of God stating, “Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.” Fear occupied because of what he saw. Are you looking in direction of a posing challenge or you have taken a position to only look up to God? King Saul paid attention to his confronting challenge and deny heaven from attending on his behalf.  Is there any reason for fear in your life today? Do not allow what you fear found you. Look up to God more through His word and deny fear. Job buttressed when he testified, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25) What is causing fear in your life? If you will begin to ignore every source of fear and turn to giving God all your attention, your challenge shall not overcome you.
The Israelites were redirected from beholding their enemy when Moses charged them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14) The word of God, the promise of God and the command of God yesterday is not different from today. Faith comes by hearing of the word and fear comes by denying the word of God. Pay attention to the word and your world will turn around for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask that every generating force of fear be permanently denied in your life.