FAITH CAPSULE: Allow joy and rejoicing to be your mark of living life.

Philippians 4

Praising God without joy is like attempting to open a locked up house without a key. Rejoicing at the time of praising God is the way to assess to God’s presence. Praising God can be likened to one who is attempting to open a house that is closed up while joy and rejoicing can be likened to key that opens door into a closed house. To be constantly joyful when praising God is assessing the presence of God. The Psalm 16:11, buttress, “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  God cannot survive a joyless environment because in His presence is fullness of joy. By this virtue, praising Him must be constantly rooted in joy. Praising, not shouting is what it takes to access His presence. Are you a worshipper indeed and in truth? Be mindful of the truth that understand is what it takes to praise God joyfully. It is not possible to praise God with understanding and not be accessible into His presence.

The psalmist revealed, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) Thanking God with understanding will get one as far as to His gates. Praising God with understanding is what takes man into the presence of God. It is never enough to go as far as the gate and not get through into the court. Are you assessing the gate and not enter into His court?

Engaging praise worship with understanding is exposure to the throne of grace because the Bible makes us to realize, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) 

Praising God in the fullness of joy is rejoicing in His salvation. Ones who rejoice in His salvation will have their horn (strength) exalted in the Lord. They will smile at every representative of enemies such as failure, sickness, and every other kind of challenges that Paul advised us not to be anxious about. Praise God with joy and engage His presence that will carry man through in the world of challenges. In the world of challenges, the path of life where there is God’s presence, the sojourner will get to their expected end. Also where God’s presence is absent, death will be present. To journey in the path of life successfully, God’s presence will have to be consistently in place.

Apostle Paul did not just ask for joy but he asked for it with emphasis when he commanded, “Rejoice always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) Allow joy and rejoicing to be your mark of living life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of God to deposit in you all that it takes to be constantly joyful.

FAITH CAPSULE: A reasonable sacrifice is in steadfast obedience.

Genesis 23

Moses knows the ways of God more than any among the children of Israel. The Bible testifies, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) Indeed, Moses knew the ways of God more than the children of Israel when he was leading them to possess God’s Promised Land. Once, Moses was admonished the Israelites about loving God and keeping His commandments always when he stated, “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess.” (Deuteronomy 11:8) To possess God’s promise demands positioning self in line of God’s command with full obedience. Possessing God’s promise demands no compromise but commitment. The Israelites must keep the commandment because it is the source of strength. Obeying God’s command is what will keep man going in the journey of life. Obedience to the word of God is a sacrifice. A reasonable sacrifice is in steadfast obedience.

In life, there is no possession, without sacrifice. This is to say that, behind every gained possession, there is a reasonable sacrifice invested. Sacrifice might happen in different ways, but sacrifice is inevitable before rightfully possessing.

Before Abraham could possess his land of choice he paid a price. After Sarah’s death, Abraham needed land to bury Sarah. Abraham requested a land from the sons of Heth to bury his wife. The sons of Heth responded to Abraham, “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” (Genesis 23:6) Abraham insisted and requested for the price to be paid. Abraham got a quoted price for the land to bury his wife. It is written in Genesis 23:17-18, “So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.””  The land did not become Abraham’s possession until he paid a reasonable sacrifice (price). Every reasonable sacrifice is costly, and could be in different forms. Also, obeying the commandment is a sacrifice because it will take man out of his way into God’s way.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to give a reasonable sacrifice which grants grace to possess all possessions.

FAITH CAPSULE:  With hearing in place, learning to fear Him shall have its place in man.

1Thessalonians 4
To fear God is to love God. To love God is seek Him. To seek God is to know and understand God.

Without any compromise, the will of God for man is to fear God. Hearing and learning the word builds faith and faith in place is fear in the heart. The word of Deuteronomy 31:12-13 clearly points out hearing and learning as the way to fear God, “Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, “and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.” The word of God remains forever the same. He is the unchanging changer. Also, what He has spoken to them He has also spoken to us. The will of God is for man to fear Him. Man could not fear Him in the past and most especially today because man no longer hear and learn from the word.

It is written, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!” (Joshua 24:14) Where there is failure to hear and learn from the word, no one can fear Him and serve Him reasonably.

The book of 1Thessalonians 4:3-8 documents, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” Everyone who fears the Lord will take to the word of 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 as stated above. What the Old Testament is saying about the fear of God is nothing different from what the New Testament is saying. However, it is important for every believer to understand and know through hearing and learning that the fear of God is crucial to not missing their heaven. Do you fear God? With hearing in place, learning to fear Him from all of His word and work cannot be displaced in the life of a believer.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to fear Him in every area of living life.

FAITH CAPSULE: One who hates the world will love the word of God.

1 Samuel 17

Jesus was speaking to all, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) Are you consciously or unconsciously serving more than one master? There is no ‘in-between’ neither is there a neutral ground when it comes to answering who you serve.

To serve God is to love God. Loving God is serving God. Do you claim to love God and fall short in every area of serving Him? Anyone who claim to love God and not constant and consistent in serving God is not on the side of truth. One that loves the word of God will hate the world of today. It is written in the book of 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world; if anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.” Today among the acclaimed believers, so many claims to love the Lord while fully engaged in the things of the world compare to how they engage to the things of the Lord. Without doubt, if the love of the Father is in every acclaimed believer, loving Him with all heart, all strength and all soul should be in place. With the love God, no sacrifice will be too difficult for any acclaimed believer to render unto God. Obedient is sacrifice. Are you obedient to the word of the Lord? Are you the same when you are inside or outside a group of believers? Man can be deceived, but God cannot be deceived. Have you turned to obeying the word rather than the world of mammon? Obedience to the word of God is what makes one to be qualified as giving reasonable service or sacrifice. Giving a reasonable service identifies one as true lover of the Lord more than the world.

Goliath was of the world and he also spoke as one of the world when he defied the armies of God. David, by virtue of his love for the name of God, responded to Goliath, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26) Goliath represented evil and David hates evil. To hate evil is to love God. Pay attention to the world around you and note it that they are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16) Serve God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to direct your heart to the true love of His holy name.

FAITH CAPSULE: Embrace the word in the race of life and you shall be victorious.

1 Kings 18

The word of God is the way of God. Psalmist buttress, “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) The word of God is a shield. Regardless one’s background, the word of God will not fail to extend protection to all who trust in Him. Do you trust in Him? Trust in Him and accept Him as your Lord and savior for you protection.

There are number of powerful ways the living word of God is described through the scripture. In every way that the word is described, the word has been consistent in answering to his description. The book of Psalm 119:32 states, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” Word of God is worthy to embrace and it exposes darkness by the power of light. The word of God is enough to terminate every form of darkness in one’s life. It was word that terminated all night struggle of lack to morning time breakthrough with abundance. Jesus spoke to Peter after Peter’s all night toiling with nothing to show for, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”(Luke 5:4) Peter did as commanded by the Word of God and abundance took the place of lack for Peter. The word of God is true to give light in the place of darkness. The word of God is a lamp to feet of those who believe enough to embrace the word and a light to a believer’s path.

It is written in Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, 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.” In the whole world of man, nothing builds up man like the word of God. To whom the word of God build it is becomes blessing of God which adds no sorrow.

God spoke in Jeremiah 23:29, “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Elijah proved the word to be true on Mount Carmel when he stood against the Baal worshipers and called on the Lord, to hear him against all the worshipers. The Lord heard Him and fire fell. (1 Kings 18:38)

Whenever the word sent is able to fill any vacuum in the life of a needy person, it will bring out and deliver all that represents need. The word of God is consistently power to heal and power to deliver. The word of God is power to make a way where there is no way. Embrace the word in the race of life and you shall be victorious.

Prayer for today: Ask for the healing and delivering power of the word of God to sound in your direction.