FAITH CAPSULE: Friendship with God is enmity with worldly affairs.

Numbers 14:1-25

It is written, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:14-15) Jesus called His entire disciples friend. Are you one of His disciples? Are you one of those who follow Him by obeying His commands? We serve a good God that is not difficult to relate with. He alone is our father who does not sleep nor slumber from keeping His children. Just as requested by Jesus, if indeed and in truth we obey His commands, we become His friends by way of His relationship with us. God is true to His word, to all of His creation which truly obeys Him. Also, He is not a partial God and will fulfill is word with all.

Abraham had conversation with God as a friend. A friend will not hide his plan from his friend; especially any plan that could affect the friend directly or in directly. God could not hide His plan of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah from Abraham. Genesis 18:17 documents, “And the LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’” God knows who His friends are and He will not deny Himself in their lives.

Just as Abraham had a friend to friend conversation God, Moses also conversed with God as a friend will converse with friend. Number of times, he had to plead to God on behalf of the children of Israel by engaging God in conversation. As an obedient servant of the Most High God, Moses made himself available to enter into conversation with God in Exodus 33:11, “So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”

We truly have a Father God that is available for us in every way of living life. However, friendship with world is distancing us from God. Friendship with God is enmity with the world. Also, friendship with God is to depart from all possible ways of the wicked and not to dwell in any way that is contrary to the Name of God. Friendship with God is to know and have the understanding that God is around and within you all the time. Sin and sinning is not a friendship relationship with God but separates man from God. Obey His commands and be a friend of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of obedience which is worthy to keep man in line as a friend of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Truly disengage fear and allow faith to reign.

1 Kings 17

The Psalmist declared his understanding and knowledge of God, “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:2) The psalmist was so sure of his understanding and knowledge and he went further to make an emphatic statement, “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowlerand from the perilous pestilence.” (Psalm 91:3) Truly, God delivers and preserves. In preserving His own, He will make provision available where there is nothing on ground to show for provision. Imagine a widow, separated by God for provision where there was famine. God made provision available for the woman of Zarephath through Prophet Elijah.
It is written, “And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’” (1 Kings 17:13-14) God was set to provide for the woman but there was a need for the woman to position herself to receive God’s provision plan. Elijah pointed out what the woman should do and not miss God’s provision plan when he warned the woman by stating, “Do not fear” Obviously, it could be that God’s preservation plan through provision for you is set but there is a need for you to disengage fear and establish faith. For the woman of Zarephath, fear could have shut her out and not receive God’s provision plan for her life.
In addition to provision for the woman of Zarephath, deliverance of her son from sudden and untimely death was as she was able to disengage fear. It was recorded that when her son died, she turned to Elijah for help and Elijah took the son, cried out to the Lord in prayer, “…O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.” (1 Kings 17:21-22) The Lord God who sent Elijah confirmed Himself as God of deliverance and preservation. In God’s confirmation the woman of Zarephath had a transformation as she testified; “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.” (1 Kings 17:24) The word of God is true to deliver and to preserve in every area of life when we truly disengage fear and allow faith to reign.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to disengage fear so that faith may reign and bring your miracle of transformation.

FAITH CAPSULE: Pride is what prepares an angry man for self-destruction.

1 Samuel 18

Anger is rooted in pride. Pride is what prepares angry man for self-destruction. In life, if there is any spirit which needs to be constantly prayed against, it is the spirit of anger. It is impossible not to have anger when pride is in place in the life of man. Anger is not of God neither is pride of God. Anger is a silent killer and it will not spare the life of any man that open door for pride. King Saul was chosen by God to be the King over the children of Israel yet, anger and pride refused to spare his life.
After David had killed Goliath, women came “out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.  So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.””  (1 Samuel 18:7) The song does not settle well inside of Saul as a result, the spirit of anger was activated in Saul. The Bible recorded, “Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” (1 Samuel 18:8) Clearly, Saul’s response to the song of the women said it all about the combination of anger and pride. Pride was the source of his anger. He was angry about how David was celebrated after killing Goliath.
Are you in a position to celebrate what the Lord has done or what He is doing in the life of anyone that you know directly or indirectly? What the Lord did through David reduced Saul and the spirit of pride took over Saul’s life. With pride over Saul, anger rounded him up for his personal destruction. Saul became threatened about what will become of his position as David’s popularity increased all over the land.  Are you harboring any threat as a result of others elevation? The spirit of anger in Saul was not of God, it is meant to kill and to destroy Saul. The anger in Saul gave a place to the distressing spirit in Saul. It is written, “And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul…” (1 Samuel 18:10) Distressing spirit that came upon Saul provoked him to attempt David’s life. Despite all, David was supposed to be afraid but instead, Saul was the one who was afraid. The Bible states it, “…Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 18:13) Pride took Saul for a ride as anger took over the driver seat.

Prayer for today: Ask God to permanently terminate all that is not of God in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: In God’s direction there is  no destruction.

Jeremiah 42, 43

It is written, “The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” (2 Samuel 5:18-19) The Philistines were set against David and David did not engage them until he inquired of the Lord. It is faith, hope and trust in God to always make a conscious inquire of Him in every step of life. In God’s direction there is life and there is no destruction.
Through Jeremiah, Israelites inquired for direction for a way of escape because of the fear of the Chaldeans attack. They sent Jeremiah the prophet, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), that the LORD your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.””(Jeremiah 42:2-3)  Jeremiah did as they had requested and the Lord gave the direction, but the remnant made the choice not to go by the direction of God. Has the Lord been speaking direction to you directly or indirectly? When God’s direction is redirected, it leads to nowhere, but destruction. It is one thing to seek God for direction and go by His direction. Also, it is another to seek for His direction and not go by His direction. God’s way (direction) is not man’s direction Isaiah 55:9 testifies to His ways, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” The remnant got direction after sending Jeremiah but they refused to go by Gods direction.
The remnants initially knew what they would do before sending Jeremiah to ask from God. Jeremiah warned them, “Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.”(Jeremiah 42:15-16) Jeremiah pointed out the reason for asking, or seeking God, for direction and not taking to God’s direction as “wholly setting of eyes on one’s own direction”. The remnants of Judah were running away from war, and failed to listen to God’s word of direction through Jeremiah, as a result, they ended up in self destruction. It is not possible to follow God’s direction and enter into destruction. Allow God’s direction to see you through.

Prayer for today: Ask God for deliverance from every agent of distraction from God’s direction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Where there is a purpose for God evil proposal will not manifest.

Daniel 6

Daniel resolved in himself to serve God fully and the presence of God rested upon him fully. All through his journey, he could not become a victim of evil agenda. It is written, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.” (Daniel 1:8-9) Daniel resolved (purposed) in his heart and he acted on it. Any time there is heart-rooted action that glorifies the Almighty God; heaven is provoked to lift one up. Heart-rooted actions which often provoke God to move on behalf of man are steadfast actions. They are consistent action in the life those who sincerely purposed for God. Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself at the beginning of his journey into captivity. As Daniel continued his journey in captivity he encountered evil plotters but the grace of being purposeful for God delivered him through. A plot was set to place him in the den of hungry lions but God made a way of escape for Daniel. Having a purposed heart for God will cause man to prevail over evil agenda.

Just as evil plotters prepare their case to eliminate Daniel, Daniel resolved to maintain his custom approach to God. When every attempt to charge him wrongfully failed, they went against him concerning his God. A decree was made against anyone one who petitioned any god or man besides king Darius. Daniel reacted to evil decree, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (Daniel 6:10)
Man with purposeful heart for God is the one with custom approach to God in the way of living life. Have you been an acclaimed believer with no custom way of worshipping God in your way of living life? There is a need for every believer to have a custom way of worshiping God in their way of living life. With custom approach in place, when the need to worry in the face of challenge knocks, one will stand his ground to the glory of God. When wicked decree was put in place, Daniel stood his ground as one with a purposeful heart for God. Daniel’s purposeful heart prevailed for him as the hungry lions failed to be hungry while he was in the company of hungry lions. Daniel’s case is not just a story but a secret to embrace.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be purposeful in your worship unto Him.