FAITH CAPSULE: Do not assume the position of a judge allow God to be God over His creation.

John 8:1-12

It is written, “…For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Roman 2:22-24) All have sinned yet all are assuming the position of a judge. Are you quick to judging others for their sin?  The world today is full of sin and sinning but yet the world is always quick in passing judgment instead of being judged. The word God admonished self-appointed judges, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2) Judging others is not our own assignment. Assessing how we stand should be more of our own assignment. As a believer saved by grace, one must be concerned about the plank in his/her own eye before attempting to remove the plank in other people’s eye. Bible identified attempting to remove plank in other’s eye while having plank in one’s own eye as hypocrite. Are you a conscious or unconscious hypocrite? Word of God questioned, “…why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)
Why not pay more attention to yourself?
The story of an adulteress woman in the book of John 8:1-12 is a clear example of the world rushing into passing judgment instead of the world being rushed into facing judgment. The scribes and Pharisees attempted to disrupt Jesus’ teaching in the temple when an adulteress woman was brought to Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees quoted the law of Moses in their effort to justified judgment stating, “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5) In the case of adulteress woman, the world wanted to rush into judgment. As it has often been, the world that needed to be put under judgment attempting to be the judge. Jesus responded by drawing a line in the sand to identify those who had never been a sinner and those who were sinners. Among the world, none could cross the line of “never had been a sinner”. No man has been assigned to be a judge. Do not assume the position of a judge allow God to be God over His creation. Answer to what the Lord called you to be.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to constantly answer only to His calling upon your life. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Making wrong decision is an avenue for enemy to invest in man.

2 Samuel 11:1-22

Sleeping in the place of waiting and watching is an open invitation for the enemy to invade and sow evil. Among ways of sleeping and allowing the enemy to sow in our lives is: Making a wrong decision and engaging a wrong company. Are you on the verge of making a wrong decision or engaging or embracing wrong ones?

Making a wrong decision in the place of right decision opens a door for enemy to sow evil. King David made a wrong decision by not going out to battle field at the time when kings go out to battle. The bible recorded that David sent Joab and his servants with him. David’s decision not to go to war opened the door for enemy to sow in him that which caused him to sin against God. David, being in the right place at the wrong time, arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. It was during his walk on the roof that he saw a Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite bathing. David sent and inquired about Bathsheba and lay with her. (2 Samuel 11:2-5) Bathsheba conceived for David while her husband was at the battle field. As the seed of wickedness grew in David, David went forward to set up Uriah for untimely death. Uriah got killed at the battle field because of king David’s set up and it all counted as sin against David. As a result of his seed of sin he could not fully recover from the consequence of his sin. Making a wrong decision is same as sleeping where there is need to be awake. David allowed the enemy to sow wickedness in him.

Engaging a wrong at the wrong time is also an avenue for enemy to gain access to sow what is wrong in man’s life. It was a good thing for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to visit the king of Israel. However, it was not a good thing for Jehoshaphat to join with Ahab king of Israel in a battle against king of Syria after having been warned by God’s prophet not to go to war. To avoid enemy from sowing wrong, Ahab, a king that will not listen to prophet of God is not the king for Jehoshaphat to align with. (1 Kings 22) Jehoshaphat could have died in the war just like Ahab because it was not a war they should have engaged by virtue of God’s warning. Jehoshaphat’s and Ahab’s going to war is allowing the enemy to sow wrong in their life. It was a seed of untimely death for Ahab while Jehoshaphat escaped death. Disengage your Ahab and not be a victim the wicked one. Every right decision will keep you awake.

Prayer for today: Ask for the mercy of God to keep you from embracing any wrong.

FAITH CAPSULE: Just as it is possible to be asleep physically so it is also possible to be asleep spiritually.

Acts 12

In the parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus mentioned, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” (Matthew 13:24-25) The point here is that sleeping is what gives enemy the privilege to sow its wickedness on the ground which is meant for good. On a ground where man is awake, it will be difficult for the enemy to invest by sowing evil into man’s life.

Living in this world today demands to be constantly awake. As an acclaimed believer, are you awake or are you asleep? Just as it is possible to be asleep physically so it is also possible to be asleep spiritually. One that is spiritually asleep will be spiritually at risk. For one who is at sleep, prayer will cease and enemy gaining entrance will become inevitable. Also, sleeping is not only when eyes and mind are shut. Sleeping does not necessary mean when one goes to bed at night. Without doubt, sleeping when time or season calls for man to be awake is extending an invitation to the wicked one.

The church must have gone to sleep at the time James the brother of John was killed by Herod the king. The bible documented, “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.  Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. (Acts 12:1-4) The killing of James prompted Herod the king to go after Peter. Herod was set to kill Peter just like he did to James. For Peter, the story changed. It is written, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.  And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.  Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” (Acts 2:5-7) It was constant prayer not comfortable sleep of the church that delivered Peter who was asleep while in the prison. To be in prayer is to be awake and deny the enemy from sowing evil seed. Is sleeping your passion? Be awake the enemy is at work!

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from sleeping a sleep that delivers man to the enemy’s hand.

FAITH CAPSULE: We have a God whose thoughts for us are good.

Psalm 92

God is a good God. He is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving for all He has done, all that He is doing and all He will do. Psalmist prescribed to us stating, “It is good to praise the Lord, and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.” (Psalm 92:1-3) Indeed and in truth, He is a gracious God and deserves to be consciously and continuously given all our praise as we engage a season of celebrating His gracious plan of salvation. God sent His beloved Son to die for our sin.

The psalmist points out, “How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” (Psalm 92:5) We have a God whose thoughts for us are of good and not of evil. We do have a God whose thoughts were demonstrated in His work. The same God yesterday and today once told the Israelites, “I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:10-11) Interestingly, what He says to one speaks to all and it is clear when He sent His Beloved Son, The living Word of God to come and die for us that we may have salvation.

It is worthy to praise Him with understanding. Without understanding, praising Him will not be backed with all of our strength and that could be the reason why the psalmist declare, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding”.

There have to be the understanding that praising God is what grants access into His presence. In any attempt to get to a king that is on throne, there has to be a process and the process is in traveling through the gate which leads to the court where the king sits and reigns as the king. The psalmist clearly understood this when he stated in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.” There is hardly any other means which access us to the presence of God better and faster than praise. Also, understand it that praising God cannot be separated from thanking Him. However, when we praise Him we glorify Him (Psalm 50:23) and when give Him thanks we magnify Him (Psalm 69:30). In this season, give God unceasing praise and thanks for His gracious thought which brought us salvation.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of strength thanking God without ceasing.

FAITH CAPSULE: Approach God or respond to God with specificity or orderliness.

Matthew 6:5-14

Through all the pages of scripture, every of God’s command came with specificity, orderliness and with details. In the days of Noah, when He was going send rain to flood God gave His command, “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. ¹⁵ And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.” (Genesis 6:14-16) God’s salvation plan for Noah and his family was with clear details. The same way that God gave out a well detailed and clearly specified salvation plan to Noah and his family, we also received our salvation plan from God. God will constantly and consistently expect a full compliance to every detail of His command. Also, when God sends a message through His messenger, He wants the details of His message to be delivered and not more or less than what He requests from His messenger.

After giving Jeremiah the message for His people, He commanded him, “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you.” (Jeremiah 1:17) God that is consistent in giving commands in details will expect His children to respond and comply obediently in detail. The point here is, God that gives command with specificity and details will also expect us to ask Him with specificity and in details so He can respond to us in full. He is God of order and He does not settle for disorder. Evidently, this must be one of the reasons why the word of God encourages us that, when we ask in prayer, we should avoid repetition. Jesus specifically said in Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. ”

At every time there is addition to His word, the one that adds to His words becomes exposed to the devil. God gave instruction in the Garden of Eden, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) When the serpent approached Eve, Eve responded by adding to the command of God, “…Nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” (Genesis 3:3) The word of God cannot be reduced neither should it be added to. God is a God of order and you shall approach Him or respond to Him with specificity or orderliness.

Prayer for Today: Ask God to help you in responding to all of His instruction and teaching in the way you should go.