FAITH CAPSULE: Having the peace of God is a condition to seek and found Him.

Exodus 14

God was speaking to the children of Israel who were carried away as captive from Jerusalem to Babylon “For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity…” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)The message of God clearly identifies peace as the only source of having a future and a hope. Ones with the peace of God will hold on in prayer when challenges arise and will know to seek God with the heart. God is a good God and constantly wants to perform His good word toward us. For Him to perform His good word we must engage the conditions in His word.
The Egyptians pursued the Israelites with horses and chariots and overtook the Israelites camping by the sea which caused fear among the Israelites. Moses responded, “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 14:14) God that is always true to His word was not going to fail but the Israelites were to do their part for God to perform His word. The Lord was going to fight for them if they were going to hold on to peace. The source of peace is having faith in God’s promise to perform His word.  
What is it that you are battling or struggling with? Allow peace of God to have a place in your life and all battle shall be converted to victory. Paul the apostle buttressed, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  A heart and minds that is guided by the peace of God will remain intact to disallow any evil penetration that often leads to man’s disorientation in the face of challenges. God has not fail fighting for His children and He will not fail if His children will have faith in His promise of deliverance by holding on in peace.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be consistent and constant obeying His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Nothing stops God from moving when it is His appointed time to move.

Genesis 12

The timing of God is the central point where every area of our lives operates from. God’s timing is where man moves forward or become stagnated in the journey of life. The timing of God is the reason why man should be constantly attentive to the move of God. God does not go by our own timing and nothing stops Him from moving when it is His appointed to move.
When it was God’s time to call Abraham out into the center of his divine schedule age was never a considerable factor before God. It is written, “…Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” (Genesis 12:4)  In God or with God, there is no time or age limit. At seventy five years old, he has passed the retirement age before God called him into divine schedule. Who would have thought of a journey of such magnitude for an aged man like Abraham? Are you considering your age as a barrier which is limiting you from going forward?
Moses, after forty years of living in one of the greatest palaces on earth, had no choice but to be moved at God’s appointed time. God did not call him like He called Abraham but he found himself in a situation that chased him out to where God called him. When Moses accidentally killed an Egyptian, Pharaoh heard about it and, “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.” (Exodus 2:15) At age forty Moses’ situation forced him to run unknowingly in the direction of God’s plan for his life. Evidently, God is in everything.
Joseph had a very positive dream but for the dream to come to manifestation there had to be a process in place. Process can be unacceptably challenging and exceedingly difficult. At the young age of seventeen, Joseph unknowingly began his journey which brought his dream to manifestation. It was not Joseph’s plan or his timing to enter the journey of his life when he went to check on his brother as directed by his father. “Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” (Genesis 37:14-15) Joseph, from wandering into entering the pit, he began a journey to the center of his divine schedule.

Prayer for today: Ask for His lovingkindness and truth to guide you in every step of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: If there is anything that will certainly open the windows of heaven, it is prayer.

John 3:1-22

Among the different ways by which prayer can be described is talking and listening to God. Prayer as an act of petitioning God in combination with faith (believing God) is what opens heaven. What prayer requires is faith and to be in right relationship with God. Without faith or right relationship with God, prayer could be like attempting to wash a dirty cloth in dirty water. God will not answer when the relationship is not right; neither would He be pleased when there is no faith. The right relationship starts with asking for forgiveness. Among the different types of prayer are: Interceding, thanking God, praising God, and confessing before God. Above all, if there is anything that will certainly open the windows of heaven, it is prayer.
It is written, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.” (Luke 3:21) Prayer is a heaven-opener. Jesus, in His entire earthly ministry, was showing us how to walk the walk. When Jesus came to be baptized, He took His time to pray, and heaven opened. This is a clear demonstration that prayer is the key which opens up the doors of heaven. It is also clear through the Bible that prayer opens heaven not only at the point of baptism but also at every juncture of life. When Jesus prayed heaven opened, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ’You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22) The prayer by Jesus is a testimony to the fact that when a prayer finds the door to heaven, the Holy Spirit, which represents the presence of God, will come down and descend on the one praying. With the Holy Spirit descending, the voice of God will then sound in the direction of the one praying. With the heavens opened, the voice of God will speak direction if the one praying has the ear to hear the voice of God. There is a need the grace of God to hear His voice when it sounds in our direction. When the heavens opened, Jesus heard the voice from heaven saying to Him, “You are my beloved Son: in You I am well pleased.” Remember, it takes faith for us to please God. The book of Hebrews 11:6 buttress it by stating, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The voice that sounded as a result of prayer demonstrates that prayer rooted in faith is what pleases God. For without faith God is not pleased.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be receptive when God responds to you petition.

FAITH CAPSULE: Having encounter with God is a very high possibility during time of separation.  

Genesis 32, Acts 9:1-22

Numbers of documentation in the bible proves it that, separation of self from all that is separable often leads to having an encounter with God. Regardless of the reason of having separation, encounter with God is a very high possibility during the time of separation.
When Jacob was about to come in the way of Esau after years of his deception, he attempted to avoid trouble for all his possessions by separating from all. The bible recorded about Jacob, “And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” (Genesis 32:22-24)At the time of separation from all of his possessions, he was not actually planning for an encounter with God until encounter to place. For Jacob, it was a life changing encounter. Jacob he had his name changed from Jacob to Israel. His encounter was a demonstration of a new chapter on the course of his life journey. The time of separation from every form of distraction and delay is a time of encounter with the move of God.
Do you consciously desire a life changing encounter with God? An encounter that turns man to the center of divine assignment demands a complete separation from every distracting agent.
Among many other encounters in the Bible was that of Saul on his way to Damascus, in his attempt to persecute disciples. It is written, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.  Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”(Acts 9:3-5) In Saul’s encounter, he was not alone and there were people around him but yet the light of God separated and single Saul out to God. Saul alone had a light shone around him; Saul alone fell on the ground and Saul alone had a conversation with Jesus. It was only Saul that received direction of where to go from the ground of his encounter. Saul’s encounter was the one that led to the change in name from Saul to Paul the apostle. Just like Jacob, the encounter of Paul eventually placed him in the center of his divine assignment. Be separated to God indeed and in truth to have an encounter with God. Also, if His choice is to have an encounter with you, He will separate you to Himself because He alone is God that can do and undo.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be separated to God for a glorious encounter.

FAITH CAPSULE: Dwelling and abiding in Him demands more than quoting the word.

Psalm 15

The word of God declares, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Knowing this scriptural verse and quoting it is not evidence that one is actually dwelling in His secret place or abiding under His shadow. To be dwelling and abiding in Him demands more than just the word of the mouth but to be constantly living the word of God.
Living the word of God is behaving His word. The word of God demands that we should be holy 1 Peter 1:15 – “…He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” If living holy is not possible the word of God would not have demanded from us to be holy. Are you one that is living the word of God or constantly quoting the word from the head? It is not possible to be quoting the word of God from the heart and not live by the word of God.
Quoting “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” is not same as dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and abiding under His shadow. Do you live by the word or you live to quote the word? Many received the word as a story but behind the story is the secret that makes man to dwell and abide in God. 
Where is the secret place of the Most High?
Psalm 25:14 – “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.” The commands of God and all that it takes to fear God is clearly written across the pages of the Bible. However, the lifestyles of most people who claim to be readers of the word vis-à-vis God’s commands do not compliment with the commands and all that it takes to fear God. Isaiah 45:19 states that, “God have not spoken in secret…” Truly God has not spoken in secret but most do not read about His secret and do not dwell in His secret by virtue of how they walk, stand, and sit. Without doubt, it is how we walk, stand or sit that testifies if we are dwelling and abiding in Him.
Psalm 15 clearly identifies the character of those who may dwell in the secret place of the Lord.
He who walks uprightly; he who works righteousness; he who speaks the truth in the heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue; and he who hates what God hates.
Do you desire to dwell and abide in the secret place of God? Devote to your desire and God will commit Himself by depositing in you your desire.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that His word shall have place in your life.