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: Failure to acknowledge Him is the knowledge not to know Him.

Jeremiah 2

The book of Deuteronomy pointed out, “…the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) It is not impossible and it is true that those who go far from the word of God you will not remember to acknowledge Him for all He has done. Where there is a failure to identify with what He has done, failure to do what is right will be in place. God spoke through Jeremiah to the children of Israel, “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? Neither did they say, ‘Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’”  (Jeremiah 2:4-6) Knowing God to be a jealous God, giving Him attention and identifying Him as He who saw you through in the past and acknowledging Him for the present is important. At the time He was speaking through Jeremiah, the children of Israel had failed to do what is right by not identifying Him for the past and not acknowledging Him for the present. In every walk of your life it is worthy to identify Him for what He has done and what He is doing.

As a believer, it is required to constantly acknowledge God for what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do. When there is a failure to acknowledge Him, there will be knowledge of turning away to another god. Which god are you turning to? Is it money, your profession or sport? In Jeremiah 2:13 God responded to the children of Israel’s act as “two evils” by stating, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. ” Children of Israel committed two evils and God lay down the consequences of their evil deed. The word went further for the children of Israel, “…Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you says the LORD of hosts.” (Jeremiah2:19)  It is never too late to stand up where there is evidence of falling short. However, not to rise and stand but to remain on the ground is self- destruction.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you and redirect you from every wrong step that you have taken away from God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Communicating power in the word of God is the ardent for transformation.

John 1

It is written, “Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:17-20) The same word He sent to them for their salvation from self-destruction is available for whosoever wants to be healed and be delivered from the effects of foolishness. The word of God is power that can never be reduced neither can His word return to Him void without performing that which He came for. John talked about the word, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)God in His questioning identified His word in Jeremiah 23:29, “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

The word of God is power and communicates power. The communicating power in the word of God is the ardent for transformation for those that are able to receive and believe in the word of God. The word of God cannot be compromised. Compromising the word of God is disobedience. It is disobedience to despise God’s word.
Proverbs 13:13 cautioned us, “He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”Despising the word of God is also a demonstration of lack of fear for His commands. Obeying God leads to obtaining the blessing of obedience from God while disobeying God is engaging the curses of disobedience.

Compromising the word is denying self from becoming a build up for God. Jesus is the builder and He stated in Matthew 16:18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Are you willing to be built up by His word? As a temple of God, until you are built up by Him, you will not be able to contain what He purposed for your life.

Jesus made an emphatic statement that He will build His church and nothing shall prevail against it. Do not prevent yourself from being built but invest yourself in the word that will build you. Jesus, the word of God is the One that builds and give life abundantly.

Prayer for today: Ask for the word of God to find a place in every area of your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: As a believer, how often do you feed on the word of God?

Psalm 61

Just as feeding on food demands opening of mouth so feeding on the word of God demands opening of the heart. Waiting for Sunday or reading the word occasionally will amount to little or nothing. What is it that you are giving your ear to? What you give your ear to is what will build you up because whatever you receive will become of you. Give ear to hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17 buttress, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Giving ear to hearing the word of God makes one to be build up in faith.” Take the hearing of His word as a priority and you will testify that you have seen God move by His word. The Lord has spoken, as a believer you need to play your part and receive his word that will build you up for His kingdom purpose.

After experiencing God’s word in its dimension, Job testifies in Job 41:5, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” The ability to hear and see in the word is power to build man up for possessing inheritance among all the sanctified.” If the word of God lacks the capacity to build man up, Apostle Paul wouldn’t have admonished by saying, “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)

One that is built up by the word is one that fears God. In Psalm 61:5, God heard David’s vow and he gave him the heritage of those who fear Him. Paul pointed out that when we are built by the word it will give us inheritance among all those who are sanctified (dedicated to God). What is it about heritage or receiving inheritance among the sanctified? It is written, Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.”” Have you considered having your inheritance among the sanctified? Do not be an acclaimed believer with no substance but for claiming, “no weapon formed against him/her shall not prosper.” Engage the word and become qualified to claim it that no weapon form against you shall prosper. Indeed it is a blessing to become one that nothing forms against shall proper but the condition of qualifying for  such blessings is to engage the word and be build up by the word.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be filled with understand that you may possess blessings encased in His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: No man hears God indeed and doubts Him.

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah encountered the word: Jeremiah 1:4-5 recorded, “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Before Jeremiah could become what the Lord wanted him to be he had an encounter with the word of God which located him. The word which went to him built him up for God’s assignment. The same word that identified and called Jeremiah out informed him what he was before he was born. The word of God caused him to begin to see from where he could not see. The word of God prepared him and positioned him into the center of his divine assignment. The Bible documents the word which built him up into boldness in Jeremiah 1:8 stating, “Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you…” The word guided Jeremiah to be bold for God’s divine agenda for his life.
Just like Jeremiah, Ezekiel also encountered the word in Ezekiel 2:1-2, “And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”  Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.”” No man hears God indeed and doubts Him. Having doubt is the evidence for not been built by the word. Allow the word of God to build you. Before all that was built, Jesus was there in the beginning and there He is forever. Jesus is the Master builder. The same word that brought forth creation is still the same word that is building up those who receive and believe in Him.

It is worthy of note that the same word that created everything is there to give more than we can imagine. It is one thing to know and memorize the word; it is different ballgame to meditate and live the word. Knowing and memorizing the word without practicing what the word says is resoundingly an empty practice that accounts to ordinary religion. It is the word which is meditated on that will cause us to observe and do what the word requires, and there’s no substitute for meditating on the word. The word of God is power and the word cannot fail, but man can fail to have the word work for them.

Jeremiah confirmed that the word is food by his testimony: Jeremiah 15:16, “Your words were found, and I ate them…” The word of God cannot be compromised if you desire for the word to build you feed on the word continuously. Just as there is no substitute for food in order to grow physically, so there is no substitute to the word to grow spiritually.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace which enables man to engage the word constantly and consistently