FAITH CAPSULE: To be concerned is from the heart, but to care is by action.

Luke 10:25-37

God is good and whatever is good is godly. Is it in you to know to do good when need calls for doing good? Jesus identified what it means to be a good one in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, a stranger from Samaritan saw another stranger from Jerusalem who fell among thieves; badly wounded and was stripped off his clothing. The Samaritan could not walk away like others before him did but he engaged the stranger from Jerusalem and spent his resources to make sure the stranger from Jerusalem received proper medical attention. Jesus our compassionate savior referred to the good doing of the Samaritan stating, “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.” (Luke 10:33) Doing good is having compassion. Compassion is the heart of Jesus. Evidently, it is godly to be doing good.

It is written, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) The need and the importance for us to be doing good as we engage living life cannot be emphasized enough. Think about the statement that, if knowing to do good and not do it is a sin, knowing to do good and doing it must be a blessing. In the book of Galatians 5:22, doing good is listed among the fruit of the spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” Many scriptural passages emphasized the importance of doing good. Romans 12:9, “…Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15, “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” Hebrews 13:16, “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

As an acclaimed believer, become one that consciously allows your concern for doing good to be alive. Let your caring to do what is good be activated. Show concern for doing good and be care active. To be concerned is from the heart, but to care is by action. Have you been having some concerns about doing good where doing good calls for good to be done? Go ahead and act with care, knowing fully well that what you are doing is in the name of God and for the glory of God. To be concerned for others with all care is doing good; it is heaven acknowledge-able and it is blessing provoking. Gain the understanding that doing good glorifies God.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s grace to constantly know and not ignore when need to do good calls for it.

FAITH CAPSULE: Know to only behold positive in the place of negative challenge.

1 Samuel 13

Behold means to observe; look or see. What a man observes determines what a man sees. Whatever a man sees is what man receives and it becomes of man. When a man looks into challenges with negativity nothing will come out of such challenge but negative. One that sees and act based on the promise in the word of God will see positively in the place negativity. The children of Israel, despite the promises of God and the testimonies of God could not see positively in Gods promise to take them to Promised Land. As the Egyptians drew near them, with no way of escape, “…the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptian marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.” (Exodus 14:10) The Israelites behold their enemy, fear took over. What are you beholding or looking up to? Beholding the challenges of life will hold back man from moving forward in life. As a believer that sees in the spoken word of God which does not fail, negative challenges should be engaged positively knowing that God is abundantly able.

Daniel’s three friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) saw in the testimony of God and their faith was energized for them to stand trusting God. When judgment was against them, they were confident; they could not look away from their God. It is written, “Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” (Daniel 3:19) The fullness of fury in the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar and his command was not enough for the bulging of the three friends of Daniel.
Have you been looking too much into the face of your challenges which are not beyond God? What you need to be doing is to set your sight on the promises of God; look not into what your challenges are communicating but behold the promise of God over your challenge and see His salvation.

Samuel commanded King Saul to wait for seven days in the face of intimidating challenge. King Saul could not wait and Samuel came stating to Saul, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”” (1Samuel 13:11-12) Saul could not recover for beholding negative. Know to only behold positive in the place of negative challenge.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to always see in the promises of God to overcome your challenges.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus’ availability for us is not to force faith on us.

Matthew 14:22-33

Meditate the word of Psalmist which states, “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy .Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,” (Psalm 64:1-2) Meditation is not memorization. Allow meditating on the word of God to be your routine and it will be your compass navigating through the journey of life. With meditation man is set to do well. Meditation worked for Moses and must have worked better for Joshua. The psalmist asked God for preservation when he prayed, “Preserve me from the fear of the enemy.” There is only one enemy for every creation of God and that enemy is the devil himself. Fear is the enemy’s weapon. In the life of a believer, when faith sinks, fear rise and takes it place. Fear does not announce itself before it invades its victims. Fear knows no discrimination.

The bible described Job as a man of integrity when God responded to Satan stating, “…that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8)Job had a high standard in the presence of God. After he had lost all that the Lord blessed him with, he confessed about fear, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25)Fear did not announce himself to Job when it invaded Job. Fear is not a respecter of title. The same fear that invaded Job invaded Peter and caused him to sink where there was a need for him to walk.

Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ’Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ’Lord, save me!’ (Matthew 14:28-30)In the above scriptural verse, it is evident that when faith was in place, Peter was able to walk on the storm and not sink. The moment Peter redirected his focus from savior to the storm, faith was out of place. Fear caused him to sink despite the fact that Jesus was there with him. Jesus’ availability for us is not to force faith on us. Engaging His presence constantly and continuously is an assured way of salvation from storm. Determination is not an assured way for salvation but the grace of God. Imagine Peter, the man with strong determination, almost got his termination when fear invaded him during the storm of life. Be encouraged; pray the prayer of the Psalmist and faith will not fail.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to keep you up and not sink in the storm of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Turning away from the word of God is turning away from His presence.

Jonah 1

The word of God is God. The way of God is in His word. The way of God is His presence.  Asking to know His way is asking to know His presence. Moses’ asking for God’s way is indirectly asking for His presence. Moses requested from God, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” (Exodus 33:13) God responded to Moses’ request, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) Obviously, the word of God is His way; His way is His presence.

When God speaks, His word cannot be denied. He is God whose word does not return back to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11) Turning to the word of God is the evidence of obedience and it adds blessing with no evil. Joshua 21:45 testified of God’s word stating, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Obeying the word of God is what delivers the promises inside of His word. However, turning away from the word of God that sounds in man’s direction is an act of disobedience that sets man up for self-destruction. Interestingly, man is constantly and consistently violating the word of God consciously or unconsciously by turning away from His word. Turning away from the word of God is turning away from His presence. There is no excuse to turn away from where God is turning man to but painful consequence is always the reward for turning away.

The book of Jonah 1:2-3 recorded, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”  But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Half obedience is same as failure to obey. In the above scriptural verse, the word of God was referred to as God’s presence. Jonah rose as commanded by God but his rising was in opposite direction to the presence of God. Are you rising in opposite direction to the word of God? Know to always turn to the word of God and maintain His presence. In getting to expected end in the journey of life the presence (word) of God is deliverance and preservation to see man through. It is time to turn back to God from where you have turned away from His presence.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of constant and consistent obedience to His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Embrace His ways and meditate His acts to be blessed.

Jonah 1

It is written, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) The ways of God are in the word of God. The words of God are the acts of God while His acts are His direction and His testimonies. Living life in the word of God is living in the ways of God. Also living in the acts of God is living by keeping the testimonies of God. Man should never live life in assumptions that seems right. The bible stated, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Are you allowing assumptions to take you for ride in the journey of life?

Just like Moses, those that walk in the ways of God walks in His law and they are blessed. Psalm119:1 buttressed, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Ones that keep the testimonies of God live by the ways of God and they are blessed. Psalm 119:2 also buttressed, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.” The word of God cannot be broken. Get to know His way, keep His acts that are His testimonies to enable you to seek Him diligently. For those who seek Him diligently, the word of God promised, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” (Proverbs 8:17) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) As an acclaimed believer, embrace His ways and meditate His acts to become a diligent seeker of the Lord God.

Are you answering to your calling? When the Lord calls you, be rest assured that, God does not call anyone to hide. Those that hide are those who turn their back to Him. Those that hide are those who walk away from His presence.
It is time to answer fully to the word (way) of God and not turn to your way. Jonah turned to his way despite hearing from God and the presence of God deserted Him. It is written, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord…” (Jonah 1:1-3) God has made His ways and acts known to us and it is for us to engage it and have testimonies for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His grace to constantly turn you and return you to God.