FAITH CAPSULE: He will back you and not let you alone if you will not doubt.

Matthew 14:22-33

After the miracle of the feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat. The purpose of getting into the boat was to send them to the other side. He made only His disciples to go before Him while the multitudes were sent away. Jesus knew what was ahead in the journey to the other side as a result He denied the multitude from going with his disciples. Is there any multitude in your company on your journey to the other side? Your journey to the other side is the journey to transformation while the multitude is the agent of discouragement and delay. The journey to the other side is challenging and needs no company of multitude (agent of discouragement or delay).  
It is written, “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. (Matthew 14:23-24) Without doubt, the One who sees tomorrow from today must have seen what was ahead before disallowing the multitudes company. The disciples needed to get to the other side where Jesus wanted them to be. Jesus knew what it would take to get to the other side and what the other side had to offer the disciples in order for them to continue in following Him.
Did He call and send you? Are you in any storm yet? If you are not yet in the storm, the storm will come. It came for the ones that He made to go before Him. The storm that went for the disciples was not in the beginning of the journey, but rather in the middle of the sea. The only way of escape while in the middle of the sea and storm is in the hand of Jesus. One thing is certain, when you are called He will back you and not let you alone if you will not doubt. To doubt is to be faulted with fear which is the personal withdrawal from His presence. He did not send them through the storm to sink them but rather to strengthen them. Do not be afraid in your storm. Faithful is He who called us and He will see us through. When the disciples encountered storm, they cried out for fear but Jesus did not delay in His response to their cry.

Prayer for today: As for the grace of faith to have a place in you as you continue your journey to the other side (a place of transformation to the glory of God).

FAITH CAPSULE: It is important to do as commanded to provoke His blessing.

DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14, Matthew 5:1-12

God does not bless anyone by accident. The blessing of God comes with condition. For example, God laid the condition for the Israelites before blessing them by setting them high above the nation. It is written, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.”(Deuteronomy 28:1) God does have all of His word laid out to perform when there is obedient.
Jesus, when He saw the multitudes, gave the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). His Beatitudes encased what it takes for man’s life to be beautified when obedient is in place. Jesus stated in Matthew 6:6, “…When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Jesus was not giving a suggestion. It was not a request but rather it is a command that ask for “When you pray”. His command has to be done for the blessing of having prayers answered by God.
Among other commands that were laid out for the provocation of His blessing states, “…when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”(Matthew 6:2-4) Here, Jesus pointed out the blessing that comes for doing charitable deeds. It is not an option; it is a matter of doing and it will always be backed by blessing.
Jesus also commanded, “…when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:16-18) Following the commands of giving to fasting, praying and charity also provokes the blessings of God. It is important to do as commanded to provoke His blessing.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to understand and live by His word that His blessing may be provoked in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: If you love His law it is time to rise and see your challenge over.  

1 Samuel 17

As the Israelites gathered for battle against the Philistines, they were constantly assaulted by Goliath. It is written in 1 Samuel 17:10-11, “And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine; they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” The armies of God were constantly kept in fear where they should have been in faith. As an acclaimed believer, what challenge is keeping you in fear and not remember who your God is? For forty days, the armies of the living God were silent in fear before armies that do not have a living God. Does this sound like your case? Do you love the law (word) of God? The word of God promises those who love the law (word) of God in Psalm 119:165, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” Ask yourself if indeed you love His law not just by mouth but by living under His law. If you love His law it is time for you to rise and see your challenge to be over. Disregard whatever in the physical that is pointing you out as a looser and identify yourself in the Lord your God.
Once King Jehoshaphat encountered a confronting challenge, “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4) Jehoshaphat refused to entertain fear like King Saul and his armies did. Jehoshaphat rose in faith; sought God by waiting and fasting. Through the Bible, beautiful and unfailing promises await those who care and know to wait on God. Among such promises are: “…but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth…” (Psalm 347:9) “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. (Lamentations 3:25) King Jehoshaphat waited on God and won.
David a young man; not a listed army; saw and heard the giant that was defying the armies of the living God. He decided to rise in faith and not sink in fear against Goliath. The same God that delivers David will grant you victory. The battle is not yours, let God fight for you and you will win.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of waiting on God in the face of every confronting challenge of your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Voice without word can be compared to a car without engine.  

 
Psalm 29

Word is power. Voice without word can be compared to a car without engine. Voice that sound in the direction of man will make man or break man. It was Eve’s voice which sounded negative word in Adam’s direction that brought to life the beginning of man’s eviction from the Garden of Eden. God spoke to Adam, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake…” (Genesis 3:17) Adam heeded negative word and it became a generational consequences. Which voice is sounding in your direction?
God promised Abraham fruit of the womb but Sarah’s voice sounded against the promise of God. It is written, “So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.” (Genesis 16:2) Abraham should have waited on God’s promise and not allow the word of Sarai’s voice to cause his violation. Are you allowing the voice man over-ride the voice of God in your life?
A man that diligently heed to the voice of the Lord will do His word. It is written, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight…” (Exodus 15:26) The challenge here is that, many are not diligent in heeding to the voice of the Lord. Without doubt, living the word of His mouth in these days of wickedness demands heeding diligently (observing attentively) the word of His voice.
The Bible records: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” (John 1:1-2) The Word that has been sounding in your direction through the pages of Bible is the Word of God. The Word of God is God and God is His Word. What is it that is leading you in your ways? The way of God is life and it is truth. When we begin to listen to the Word of God, we will undoubtedly walk away from the way of death. God is not a slave master; He is a saving Master for anyone who will listen to His Word. The Word of God states in Psalm 32:8-9, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle…” God wants the best for all of His creation who will take a rest in the instruction and the direction of God that leads every obedient one to be under the guidance of the eye of God.

Prayerfor today: Ask for the grace to be diligent in heeding to His word.

FAIHT CAPSULE: Are you experiencing any confronting challenge that is huge enough to knock of you confidence?  

Matthew 14:22-33

Fear in the face of trouble or fear in the face of sudden terror is the demonstration of no confidence in the Lord. It is written, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.”(Proverbs 3:25-26) Is there any reason for being afraid? To be afraid in the face of sudden terror is the evidence of lack of confidence Unchanging Changer. Lack of confidence is the evidence of lack of faith. Where faith is absent fear is fully present. The Israelites were afraid in the face of confronting challenge when Moses said to the people,

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see

again no more forever.  The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  (Exodus 14:13-14) Holding onto peace in the face of challenge is the evidence of confidence. Are you experiencing any confronting challenge that is huge enough to knock of you confidence?  
It is easy to confess our hope and trust in the Lord but when trouble or sudden terror comes like a wave, our faith becomes tested. However, the more we hear and hear about how different troubles and sudden terrors were overcome by the presence of the Lord, our faith supposedly will rise. Jesus made His disciples get into a journey where there faith was tested. It was not accidental but a passage through incident that was to qualify them as ones that have seen it all, being in it all and experienced it all so that they could be our model. He sent them on a journey at a late hour a time of no return, “…Now when evening came, He was alone there, But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. ” (Matthew 14:23-26) Jesus’ disciples must have seen enough miracles during their walk with Jesus not to be afraid but yet they were afraid because they lack confidence. Jesus, the One who sent the disciples in the boat across to the other side before Him did not forsake them despite their lack of confidence. Has He called you and all that you are dealing with are challenges upon challenges and waves after waves? Be confident and know that enemy cannot be more powerful more than Jesus.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be constantly confident in the face of any challenge.