Faith Capsule: Are you making noise as a believer but yet living as a deceiver?

Mark 15:1-32

It is written, “Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ^“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-19) Exactly what He said happened to Him. Jesus knew beforehand that all of His disciples were going to stumble and scatter at His arrest. Indeed and in truth all His disciples forsook Him as recorded in Matthew 26:56, “…Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” He was betrayed by His disciples then and today nothing has changed.
As an acclaimed believer, how are you betraying Jesus? The bible recorded, “Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” (Matthew 26:69-70) Peter betrayed Him by denying Him. Are you betraying Him by denying Him? Doing what He commanded not to do is an evidence of denying Him. Peter blatantly denied Jesus three times to avoid suffering with Him. Every acclaimed believer wants to be identified with Jesus but none wants to suffer with Him or suffer just like He did.
Are you making noise as a believer but yet living as a deceiver? Judas took his own way of betraying Him to another level. Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles. He was their treasurer. John 12:6 introduces Judas’ thievery by saying, “…as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.” Judas disclosed Jesus’ whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for 30 pieces of silver. Judas identified Jesus with a kiss, addressing Him as “Master”
As an acclaimed believer, how are you betraying Him? Is lying, deception or manipulation your way of living life? Are you having any opening that Satan could enter into? It does not matter who you are or how long you have been following Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, Satan will attempt gaining entrance into man.
The route to becoming a betrayer is a failure not to watch and pray. Jesus warned, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation…” (Mark 14:38) Concerning Judas, the bible mentioned, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.”(Luke 22:3)
One that enters into temptation because of lack of watching and praying takes a position of allowing Satan the tempter to enter. Are you an acclaimed believer that is watching and praying? Watch and pray; deny the tempter; do not end up as a betrayer.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to have your door shut against all that does not represent Him.

Faith Capsule: A failure to remain joyful is the evidence that the word of God does not remain in man.

Exodus 15

The Psalmist stated, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130) Jesus, the living word of God spoke, “…I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) The word of God is light and the source of joy. Jesus is the word of God. Do you have a place for the word to remain in you? Jesus was stated in His word, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) When His joy remains in you to fill you it becomes evident that you are a vessel of joy. The joy Jesus spoke to us about is only rooted in the word of God and not in the world we see. The joy Jesus spoke about is not triggered by what we see in the physical it is a joy that we see in the word. The joy Jesus spoke to us about believes God for what He has spoken regardless of the challenges brought by the world. Habakkuk 3:17-18 stated, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” The word of Habakkuk buttressed the need to remain joyful in the face of daunting challenge.
A failure to remain joyful is the evidence that the word of God does not remain in man. Ones that are without the word will know to complain. Complain is the source of rebellion. The Israelites, after having seen the mighty act of God’s hand that brought them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea they could to maintain joy. Being joyful supposed to keep them going and trusting God regardless of challenges. At the time they came out of Red Sea, they had a need for water; they were quick to complain because they were not full with joy. It is written, “…when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:23-24) Joy was not in the Israelites and they were quick to complain. After their complain, “they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” (Exodus 15:27) Allow His spoken word to remain in you, be joyful; do not complain but know that your answer is closer.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you that His word remains in you.

Faith Capsule: Asking is a demonstration of faith.

Matthew 7

What God says He will do is a done deal for anyone that knows to engage His word faithfully. The Creative creator is true and cannot lie. Psalmist testified, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30) Proverbs 30:8 stated, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” The book of Hebrews 12:4 buttressed, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God was so sure about how His word is authentic when He stated, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) Considering the scriptural verses above, we are to wonder why it is so difficult for man to give self to the word of God.

Are you facing any challenge that seems to be bringing your world to a standstill? Is it a challenge that shuts all doors for breakthrough? The only prescription that was prescribed by the Eternal surgeon, the only One who reverses the irreversible is to ask. Asking without ceasing regardless of what the season offers is what Jesus meant for us. The book of Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Have you been asking or assuming? There is a difference in asking and assuming that Jesus knows. Asking is a demonstration of faith. Bartimaeus the blind man cried his entire cry, got Jesus’ attention despite the thronging crowd but did not ask what exactly he wanted from Jesus. Jesus knows our problem but He wants us to ask for what we want. Have you been asking or you have only been making noise? Jesus prompted the blind Bartimaeus to ask when He questioned him, “So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Luke 18:40-41) What do you want Jesus to do for you? Insist, persist and resist all that hinders receiving from Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His word.

Faith capsule: God’s command is not a suggestion but to be engaged.

1 Samuel 15

God alone is the Commanding commander. God’s command is not a suggestion but a must that must be done. God commanded Saul through Samuel, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3) The message was a command not a suggestion, or an idea. Saul made a choice not to prosecute the command of God. Saul engaged disobedience not to fully carry out God’s command.
Saul went as commanded, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:9) After carrying out part of the command, Samuel condemned Saul for his failure to fully obey as commanded by God. The bible recorded Saul’s response to Samuel, “…Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” (1 Samuel 15:13) Saul clearly disobeyed God. Saul’s excuse was to, “…Spared the best and Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”” (1 Samuel 15:15) Under heaven, there is no excuse that can prevail.
Are you having excuse for the consequence of disobedience to God’s word? Before God, Saul’s excuse does not go far before God, but it stopped him from going further in the hand according to God’s divine agenda for His life. As a believer, it is important to know that no excuse is a supplement that can complement any act of disobedience to the word of God. The best excuse documented in the pages of the bible was of Adam when God approached him for having eaten from the tree of life. Adam responded to God, “…The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”  (Genesis 3:12) Adam’s excuse was a reasonable one because he did not ask for a woman it was God that made Eve for him. However, every violation of God’s command is an avenue that complicates the journey of life. God’s command is not be compromised.

Prayer for today: Ask God for grace and mercy to walk in the line obedience to His command.

Lift Up Your Voice!

Faith Capsule: Are you shutting your mouth when you need to cry out?

1 Samuel 1

It is written concerning Jesus, “Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:12-14) The lepers deny distance from denying them their miracle healing. The word stated that they stood afar. Do you trust God for a miracle breakthrough in any area of life? As a leper, law restricted their movement. What is it that is standing between you and your miracle when Jesus said, “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) As an acclaimed believer, let it be registered in you that the enemy cannot be more powerful. Jesus came and paid it all on the cross for us and we have to know to engage Him to possess the abundant life He brought to us.

The Ten Leper did not only devise a way to circumvent the law that restricted them from getting closer to Jesus but they also cried out loud. Are you shutting your mouth when you need to cry out? The word of God stated in Psalm 81:10, “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Often time, confronting challenges demands opening mouth wide. When man makes the choice to remain quiet on a ground where help is available, man’s challenge will continue to embrace man. If you will know to open your mouth wide, God will not deny you His attention. The Ten Lepers could not be quiet but were loud when they lifted theirs voice and called for mercy.
The Psalmist suggested about how to receive from God when he stated, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help.” (Psalm 121:1) How are you calling on Him? Hannah must have been quiet to herself in her prayers while enduring provocation from Peninnah at the time she was barren. In one of her trip to Shiloh, as a result of provocation she received from Peninnah she cried to God like a drunkard.  Eli must have been seeing Hannah coming to Shiloh every year but the year of her breakthrough, she prayed like a drunkard and was mistaken for a drunkard by Eli. You do not have to afford affliction but resolve affliction by crying out in uncommon way.

Prayer for today: Ask God to incline His ear to your prayer.