FAITH CAPSULE: Be steadfast in your expectation; never give up until you get through.

Luke 18:35-43, Luke 19:1-10

In life, expectation is the act of looking forward to manifestation and it demonstrate the extent of our faith. The Lord God is a God who weighs our action. 1 Samuel 2:3 buttress, “For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” Are you expecting from God?  The bible documents, about certain blind man who continually beg by the road side. The blind man was in the right place, at the right time when Jesus was passing by where he was begging. Luke 18:36-37 documents, “And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.” The blind man began to cry out by calling on Jesus for help. While he was crying the crowd attempted to shut him down from his crying out but he was steadfastly persistent until he gained the attention of Jesus and “…Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him…” (Luke 18:40) The blind man’s expectation was manifested.
Jesus gave a parable of the persistent widow who was able to get a manifestation of her expectation from a wicked judge because of her persistency. (Luke 18:1-5) The widow did not stop asking until she was able to receive her expectation.

When we become reluctant or stop asking, it shows the lack of faith. To stop asking at the time of our need is possibly the evidence of lack of steadfast faith. We are to ask, seek knock and not stop until there is an answer in place for us. Jesus commanded, “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…” (Matthew 7:7-9) Jesus does not waste word and whatever He says, is settle. Why quit from being steadfast in your expectation?

A very short man attempting to see Jesus in the midst of a crowd is like one who is attempting to climb a rock by riding a bike. Short man Zacchaeus ignored all limitations which was bounding him from seeing Jesus and went with all the expectations that enabled Him to see who Jesus was. It is written, “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:4-5)  Be steadfast in your expectation; never give up until you get through.

Prayer for today: Father, I ask for the grace of enablement to seek you with all that You have given me.

FAITH CAPSULE: Abraham was sacrificially steadfast.

Genesis 22

Sacrifice is to surrender something of value as a means of gaining something more desirable. It requires steadfastness. Steadfastness can be inconvenient to engage especially when you have to surrender your time to receive a promise that is unseen.

David stated God’s message to Solomon, “Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.” (1Chronicles 28:6-7)  This is a beautiful and blessed promise of God but for Solomon to receive this promise from God, He had to continually be steadfast in following God’s commands. Any sacrificial engagement that lacks steadfastness will cut short the blessing promised by God.

In life, there is no possession without sacrifice. In other words, behind every gained possession, there is a reasonable sacrifice to be given. Sacrifice might happen in different ways, but it is necessary in order to receive your rightful possession.

God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Behind the promise of God for Abraham, the sacrificial condition was enormous and painful to engage. God commanded him, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house.” (Genesis 12:1) Often times, believers’ claim Abraham’s blessing, but many of them are unable to make such sacrifice to receive those blessings. Abraham continued in the journey to His blessing by making sure he was continuously steadfast.  It was a journey which lasted from his departure as commanded by God, until the rest of his life. Abraham was sacrificially steadfast.

Moses, being a vessel of God, was speaking to the children of Israel when he said, “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) God promised the children of Israel a possession, but it could not happen until they had invested in a required sacrifice. If they had kept the commandments of God, it would have given them the strength needed to possess their possessions. Sacrifice is costly and can be in different forms. Obeying the commandment is a sacrifice because it takes man out of his plan and places man into Gods plans.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace which saw Abraham through to be true in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be steadfast following Jesus fully.

Matthew 16

Jesus was teaching when He stated, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Does that sound like you? Are you one whose word does not line up with your walk? Do you profess Jesus but yet perfects in wickedness? You wonder who the wicked ones are. Jeremiah points out the wicked in his statement before God, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with you; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.” (Jeremiah 12:1-2) Clearly, the wicked ones are near to God in their mouth but far from their mind.

Ones who carries the identity of the wicked does not carry the cross, such does not follow Him fully. Jesus specifically requested, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)  Whatever a man desires God will deposit. Is it your desire to follow Jesus fully? Following Jesus is not flowing with the crowd. Many are flowing with the crowd few are actually following Him fully. To follow Him fully demands to be steadfast in our walk in line with the word of God by forsaking all for the Kingdom of heaven’s sake.

One who is self-full cannot be word full. Following the word fully is following Jesus fully. Jesus is the living word of God which was in the beginning. John 1:1 buttress, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ” Why not deny yourself; forsake all and settle for the living word of God; take up His cross and follow Him to cross over?

Following fully is not a one time or on and off engagement. Following the word demands to be steadfast which is to be fixed in direction. To be steadfast in following the living word of God is not a self-satisfying engagement and one who is self-full cannot be possibly steadfast. Kind David realized the importance and the need for one to be steadfast when he called on God in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Be steadfast following Jesus fully.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be steadfast in following Christ fully.

FAITH CAPSULE: Be steadfast following Jesus fully.

Matthew 16

Jesus was teaching when He stated, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Does that sound like you? Are you one whose word does not line up with your walk? Do you profess Jesus but yet perfects in wickedness? You wonder who the wicked ones are. Jeremiah points out the wicked in his statement before God, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with you; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.” (Jeremiah 12:1-2) Clearly, the wicked ones are near to God in their mouth but far from their mind.

Ones who carries the identity of the wicked does not carry the cross, such does not follow Him fully. Jesus specifically requested, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)  Whatever a man desires God will deposit. Is it your desire to follow Jesus fully? Following Jesus is not flowing with the crowd. Many are flowing with the crowd few are actually following Him fully. To follow Him fully demands to be steadfast in our walk in line with the word of God by forsaking all for the Kingdom of heaven’s sake.

One who is self-full cannot be word full. Following the word fully is following Jesus fully. Jesus is the living word of God which was in the beginning. John 1:1 buttress, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ” Why not deny yourself; forsake all and settle for the living word of God; take up His cross and follow Him to cross over?

Following fully is not a one time or on and off engagement. Following the word demands to be steadfast which is to be fixed in direction. To be steadfast in following the living word of God is not a self-satisfying engagement and one who is self-full cannot be possibly steadfast. Kind David realized the importance and the need for one to be steadfast when he called on God in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Be steadfast following Jesus fully.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be steadfast in following Christ fully.

FAITH CAPSULE: To work the works of God is to believe in whom that sent.

Matthew 7

It is written, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them…” Jesus on this occasion, taught from beatitudes to the law. He taught about doing good to please the God, He taught about praying and fasting. In that series of teaching, Jesus also taught about the true way into the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught it that, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

Today, so many are saying to Him, Lord, Lord, but keeping and maintaining distance in their way of living life. In the life of so many, Jesus is not evident but always present in their mouth. What the Lord was saying here is that those that are calling on God without doing the will of the God are positioned not to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Doing the will of the Father is not only by going to church or attending prayer meetings and every other function inside or outside of God. Jesus points it out what it means to do the will of the Father by stating in Luke 6:46-47, ““But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like.” Doing the will of Jesus is in coming to Him, hearing what He has to say, and doing what He says. So many have come to Him, so many are still coming to Him, but almost none are doing what He says.

If the numbers that are doing what He says was high, then the world would be a better place to live. Claiming to be a believer is not enough, but living and aiming to be like Him. Following the word of God is what believing in Him is all about. Jesus was asked in John 6:28-29, “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” The will of God is for all to work the works. To work the works of God is to believe in whom that sent Jesus. Ones that believe the word should behave the word. Self-deception is self-destruction. It is time for Self-deception to cease so that gaining entrance to the kingdom of heaven might become a reality when it matters.

Prayer for today: Ask God to take control of your moments so that you follow in all His word as they sound in your direction.