FAITH CAPSULE: The absence of His knowledge in you is the evidence of your presence in the world.

1 John 3

Do you desire to dwell in the presence of the Lord? If you are one who desires to dwell in His presence there is a need to amend your ways and your doings. One who is able to amend his/her way will walk in the knowledge of His will. In Colossians 1:9-11 Paul prayed, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” Paul’s prayer is worth of constant meditation for all that desire to dwell in Him. Walking in the word of God is doing the will of God. To know God is to be in Him and Him in you.

Having been in the church for long or having the ability to memorize and be conversant in quoting the word is not a determinant of knowing Him. It is written, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3) Talking about the commandment of God is not an evidence of knowing God but keeping His commandment is the evidence of knowing Him. Many talk about the commandments of God but few are demonstrating the life of one who keeps His commandments. 1 John 2:4-6, “He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” The word of God is true. God does not lie and He will not look away from the manifestation of His word. In this world of challenge there is no better place to abide but in the word of God. Determination will not help to dwell in the word; when there is desire to dwell, God will deposit what it takes to dwell in His word into your life. “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1 John 3:24)

Prayer for today: Ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

FAITH CAPSULE: God will perfect that which He purpose for your life.

Exodus 14, 2 Samuel 5:1-5

God alone will resolve all the unsolvable in your life. He alone knows and has all it takes to make a way where there is no way. Exodus 14:21 testifies , “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.” God by His infinite power made a dry land in the sea. What is it that God cannot do? He is worth of all glory, honor and adoration. The psalmist admonished, “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters. (Psalm 114:7-8)
The mountain that was before David was created by King Saul in attempt to deny him where the Lord was taking him. Saul’s mountain fell when he died and David eventually became the king according to God’s plan. It is written, “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.  Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’’ Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.” (2 Samuel 5:1-3) King David was anointed the third time. The first time was when Samuel anointed David, the second time was his rule over Judah and the third was his rule over the whole of Israelites. When all avenues for David to be king seem to be blocked God made a way for him. The word of God came to pass in the life of David because God never fail. All that the Lord has spoken into your life for your breakthrough will not fail but will come to pass to the glory of God.
2 Samuel 5:4-5 document it, “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.” The time David spent in running and hiding for his life because of Saul’s attempt to terminate God’s plan for his life was nothing to compare with the years which he spent reigning and ruling as God ordained. God will perfect that which He purpose for your life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to cause His face to shine on you, to enable you to  live to the fulfillment of His plan for your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: God is a good God who will answer and attend to all who cry out to Him.

1 Samuel 10:17-27

We serve a good; caring; gracious and merciful God. He is a God with good purpose; a God with plans to save and preserve His children. Out of the act of His goodness and mercy, He promised His children a new heart. His promise states, “…then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good;” (Jeremiah 32:39-41) It takes a good gracious God to have a good plan and purpose for His rebellious children. He was God in the Old Testament, He is God in the New Testament and He will continue to be God in Future Testament. He is worth of all our thanks giving and praise!
Peter asked Lord Jesus about the issue of forgiveness stating, “…Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”” (Matthew 18:21) Jesus, out of His goodness and mercy responded to Peter, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22) Surely, God made room for His children not to miss heaven. Imagine, 7×70 times of going back to ask for forgiveness. God is definitely worthy of a reasonable sacrifice of thanks giving on a regular basis.
Rebellious act (sin) is not enough to separate His children who cry out to Him with the heart of repentance. The Israelites consistently rebel against God and get into agonizing challenge which causes them to always cry out to God. God, in His goodness and mercy always give heed to their cry.
It was a rebellious act when they asked God for a king. (1 Samuel 12:17) During Samuels address at Saul’s coronation, Samuel points out the goodness of God as he reminded the Israelites about their cry out which provoked the goodness of God. It is written, “When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.” (1Samuel 12:8)
Crying out to God is not a sign of weakness but to get God’s attention. Is your challenge rooted in sin? A cry out unto God just like the Israelites is a way of getting God to attend to you. God is a good God who will answer and attend to all who cry out to Him. Psalm 86:5 testifies, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Turn to God, call upon Him by crying out to Him and He will not disregard your call.

Prayer for today: Ask for His goodness and mercy in every direction of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: One who knows to think knows to give thanks.

Psalm 136

When you acknowledge, you show or express appreciation. Dictionary describes appreciation as the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value. Appreciation is an act of giving thanks.
Giving thanks is a sacrifice. Hebrews 13:15 states, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Sacrifice is an offering to God. Jealous God desires and deserves a reasonable sacrifice in every area of worshiping God. The book of Romans 12:1 admonish us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Sacrifice to God must be a reasonable sacrifice. To sacrifice means to give up something of value. Sacrifice is costly and it is not convenient if we are to give a reasonable one.
Giving thanks and praising God is easy when life is full of happiness with no challenges. However, when challenges shows up and manifestation in any area of living life is not what we are getting, giving thanks and praising God can be very difficult. The writer of Hebrew specifically requested from us to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  What is holding you or stopping you to continually give thanks and praise on a regular basis rather than to continually give thanks and praise on annual basis? Is discouragement a factor that is causing you to hold back a regular thanks giving and praise to God?
Giving thanks and praising God for the grace of God is enough reason to keep on thanking God at every breath. Psalm 150:6 do not ask for too much when it states, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” One who knows to think knows to give thanks. The ones who know to keep heart with all diligence are the ones who do not stop to regard the works of God. However, those who do not “…regard the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.” (Psalm 28:5) Regard the works of God by giving Him thanks and praise. There is no limitation giving thanks and praising the Almighty God. He can be praised in the day and in the night. Apostle Paul states, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6) Giving thanks and praising God covers a multitude of ground in our relationship with God. Make giving thanks and praise worship your every moment song and God will not fail to acknowledge you.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to sing a new song of thanks giving for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Thanking and praising God gets heaven’s attention.

Psalm 92

Thanking and praising God is not a thinking engagement. You do not think thanks you give thanks. Also, it should be an every moment engagement. Giving thanks and praising God cannot be separated both goes together. Psalm 92:1 confirms, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” When understanding backs up conviction, it delivers an undeniable miracle. When thanking and praising God is without understanding it becomes empty emotion. Thank and praise God with understanding because the Bible declares, “For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.” (Psalm 47:7)
Thanking and praising God is an act of declaring His goodness at all time. The Psalmist buttress, “To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night.” (Psalm 92:2) How to thank and praise Him is not relegated to a particular guideline. However, Psalm 92:3 does mention it to be: “On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.” The Psalmist went further by declaring why we should thank and praise Him stating, “For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.” (Psalm 92:4-5) God is worthy of thanks giving and praise worship by declaring His work as the Psalmist did. Evidently, volumes and pages of book will never be enough to identify what thanking and praising God has done or could bring forth. Thanking and praising God gets heaven’s attention because God inhabits the praises of His people.
We do not only give thanks for what God has done or what He is doing but we also give thanks for what He can do or what we expect Him to do. Are you expecting God to move concerning your confronting situation? Regardless of the magnitude of your situation, believe and give thanks to God before manifestation of your expectation. Jesus believed that God was going to bring Lazarus back to life and as a result, Jesus did not wait for Lazarus to rise before He thanked God for Lazarus’ rising from dead. It is written, “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’” (John 11:41) Your Lazarus will rise.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of giving a reasonable sacrifice of thanks giving.