FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus came to take over our challenges.

John 14

Jesus is always watching on us to move on our behalf when we trust to wait on His name as our shield. Jesus, during one of His passing by, He restored a blind man’s sight in a questionable way to His detractors when, “…He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” (John 9:6-7) The point here is that, the blind man did not question or doubt the word of God when he took off and went to wash. The fact that the blind man did not know Jesus at the time of direction was not an excuse for him to question or doubt the word of God. Doubt is dragging faith and not moving by faith. Jesus came to take over our challenges and He is the same yesterday and today. When God takes over on your behalf, do not overtake God. What He said should be considered done and settled. To unsettle by doubting sets one out of His promise. Jesus won our battle over 2000 years ago. He has given us victory but many continue to be victimized because of doubt.
To know Jesus is to know Him and not doubt Him.
One has to know God for who He is and what He can do. What is it that you do not know about Him? The work of God is everywhere for man to know Him and not doubt Him. He is unfailing. He is a mighty warrior. It is important to know personally that Jesus came for a purpose. Jesus confirmed the purpose of His coming when He said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus came to give abundant life. He also stated another place that, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Jesus did not stop talking about peace when He further stated, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) In all of the words of Jesus above, it is clear that having abundant life is encased in the peace that Jesus brought. This is to say that receiving and having Jesus, the gift, the reason for the season into our life is where abundant life is. Challenges will come and the enemy will roar but with Jesus, the Peace of God, the enemies will fail to rear its head against one.

Prayer for today: Bless the name of God for Jesus the gift from God for salvation.

FAITH CAPSULE: What is it that you have to offer Jesus as you celebrate Him?

Matthew 2

Among the ways of seeking God is celebrating God for who He is. A God that is jealous will undoubtedly appreciate being celebrated by His creation. With understanding, it is safe to say celebrating the birth of Jesus is making Him known publicly. Making Him know publicly is seeking Him. The word of God demands, “But seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33) It is always worth to make our seeking God a fruitful experience and not just a display of glamorous celebration. Glamorous celebration can be just attraction we display in the name of celebrating God. In your celebration, gifts are being handed out to families and friends. Is your giving a true reflection of love for others or only to give back in return because a family or friend extended a gift to you? Do you truly love as demonstrated by the One you are celebrating? The One you are celebrating came to offer love to all man. 1John 4:9 buttressed, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” Jesus is the love of God for us. 1 John 5:1 also stated, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.” Give Him gift by accepting the love and abide in Him.
What is it that you have to offer Jesus as you celebrate Him? At the time of His birth gifts were offered to Him. The bible recorded, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11) The wise men visited the birth place of Jesus with gifts for His coming as the savior of man. As an acclaimed believer, what is it that you have to offer Him at the celebration of His birthday? Besides glamorous celebration, handling out gifts and receiving gifts, singing of carols that have no meaning inside of you, what do you have to offer as a gift for the birth day celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is your celebration meaningful? Does it truly reflect your confession? Celebrating one that is not pleased with one could possibly be an incomplete or unacceptable celebration. Do you have faith? It is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) but nothing else. Christianity or Christmas celebration is not just about adornment but it is about Jesus reality. Disallow adornment from occupying you from the reality of Christ Jesus.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from religion into Jesus reality.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is easy to celebrate His birth but not operate according to His word.

Luke 2:1-21

It is written, “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7) It is very easy for so many to receive and engage the scriptural verses above and become occupied celebrating it year after year. Why is it so easy for man to know to receive the story of His birth and fully engage in celebrating it but not so easy to work the works of God which He brought?
The bible also recorded in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  This scriptural verse is the key but it is the most neglected because it asked for man to believe. Man wants to celebrate and not eliminate that which is in their world that is denying man from believing Him that was born in a manger. The crucial part of His coming is for man to work the works of God. The book of John 6:8-9 clearly answered to what it means to work the works of God. Jesus was asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” and He responded, “…This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Many received the story of how He was born, they embraced it and celebrate it glamorously but do not consider to work the works of God which is to believe in Him (to be living life according to His word)
It should be clearly understood that, Christmas season is not just the time of exchanging gifts neither is it only a season of going back and forth for family visitation. In this season, it is important to understand the reason for celebration. It is the season to actually establish a relationship with the One that is being celebrated. It is good to celebrate the season but when the understanding of the reason for the season is not in place in the life of man, man is positioned to miss it all when He comes back.

Prayer for the day: Lord my God and my King, let your hand come upon me that I will not miss out when you  come back for those who work the works of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Have you truly received and believed Him?

John 1

Our light is here! The Word that created heaven and earth was with God in the beginning. The book of John 1:1-2 buttressed, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God” The Word with God is the Word that came to lighten up our world so we are not overwhelmed by the darkness of this world. The bible went further to present the word to us stating, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:4-5) Jesus testified in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Truly, He is the light of the world that is in the world for us not to be a victim of this world of darkness. For the word to lighten up our world condition to follow Him must be continually engaged by following Him. Glamorous celebration of the living Word of God once in a year does not represent following Him.
The true celebration of the Word of God, the Light of the world is encased in receiving and to be living by the word. John 1:12-13 clearly stated, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” To receive Him and to become one that lives by His word is what identifies a man as His follower. Have you received and believed Him? Those who received Him are the ones that confess Him and believe Him. During His time walking the face of earth, many confess Him and not believe Him. Today, many are confessing Him by their glamorous celebration of Him but living life by His word is out of their world.
Have you truly received and believed Him? It is possible to receive and not believe Him. He wants us to be complete in Him by receiving and believing in Him. His word testifies to the truth that He wants us to receive and believe in Him when He spoke, “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” (John 17:8) Glamorous celebration of the birth of Jesus without having received and believed (living life by His word) in Jesus is a baseless and tenuous celebration. Celebrate His birth with understanding and be elevated for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask God to open your understanding and know to engage a celebration that counts.

FAITH CAPSULE: With the fear of God dwelling in us, God is faithful to establish as a candidate to inherit eternal life.

1 John 4

To fear God is to love God. Claiming to love God also comes down to obeying His commandments. Apostle Paul pointed out that the purpose of God’s commandment is to love God. He stated, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk.” (1Timothy 1:5-6) Paul was talking about love that counts before God, the kind of love that is worthy to provoke God’s attention to acknowledge one for good.
What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Living a righteous life is a command from the word of God. Jesus was speaking, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) It is clear in the documentation of the bible that the scribes and Pharisees are well versed in the word but not living life according to God’s word. The love of God is what qualifies man to be considered as one that engages righteousness. 1John 3:10, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” It is impossible for anyone that does not love his brother that he can see to claim to love a God that he/she has never met. The word of God encourages us to truly love in every aspect of our lives because love is truly of God. 1 John 4:8 declares it, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love.” It is the will of God for us to fear because His fear in us places us to love Him.
The fear of God, the love of God is only way of obeying all of His commandments. That fear is the conclusion of all that matters in life. It is perfectly certain that with the fear of God dwelling in us, God is faithful to establish us as one that is set to inherit eternal life. The Good Samaritan is a measure of the gift we should be giving back to God who gave us the best gift in His begotten Son. Loving our neighbor as demonstrated by the Good Samaritan is what to do to inherit eternal life. A yearly glamorous celebration of the gift of God to us is far from enough as a measure of what to do to inherit eternal life. Loving our neighbor perfects loving God. Celebrate Jesus, the gift of God, by giving yourself to living life in having compassion for all your neighbors.

Prayer for today: Personalize the prayer which the Apostle Paul prayed in 2Thessalonians 3:5, ‘Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the presence of Christ.