FAITH PRESCRIPTION: When there is love for God you will seek Him in a unique way.

Numbers 23, 24

Daniel’s love for God established his custom approach and relationship with his God. Daniel could not let the day pass by without going into the presence of God. The kind of love Daniel had for God, positioned him for deliverance and preservation from the hand of his enemies. When he was marked for an untimely death in the den of hungry lions, he made his way out by virtue of his testimony in Daniel 6:10, “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.” How can a believer claim to love God and only pray when challenge shows up? It takes more than church attendance every Sunday to worship God and to show our love for Him. God is a jealous God and the antidote of jealousy is attention. When we give all our attention to God, heaven is bound to attend to all of our needs. When Gods sees our love for Him He will respond with His love for us.
It is written in Romans 9:15, “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”As much as God’s mercy is for only the ones He chooses to have mercy, when you love God, you have positioned yourself for undeniable mercy of God. Exodus 20:6 confirmed the mercy of God for those who love Him when it stated, “but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments.”  
Among the blessings of loving God is that God will always fight on the unknown and known enemy on behalf of those who love. God fought on behalf of the children of Israel against Balak and Balaam without them having any knowledge of Him fighting their battle against Balak and Balaam. When you love the Lord, He will turn against your enemy like He did for the children of Israel against Balak and Balaam. God is true as stated, “…LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.” (Deuteronomy 23:5) Also when you love God, His blessings will pass onto your descendants. It was the love of God for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that moved God to bring out the children of Israel from the bondage of over four hundred years in Egypt. In reference to the deliverance of the children of Israel, the Bible recorded, “And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power.” (Deuteronomy 4:37)

Prayer for today: Ask for the love of God to overwhelm your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: What is it about your name that is affecting the world you are living?

Acts 4:36-5:1-11

The book of Exodus 1:7 described the growth of the Israelites while they are in bondage, “…the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” By virtue of their growth and the fear of them taking over the land, the King of Egypt devised a law to reduce the Israelites. In the King’s frustrated effort to reduce the Israelites, the bible documented that he spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” (Exodus 1:16) The midwives did not act as instructed by the King because, “…the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.” (Exodus 1:17) The midwives fear God and the meaning of the name they answered was also a determinant as regard to how they affect their world. Shiphrah means “Beautiful One” and Puah mean “Splendid One” The Beautiful One and the Splendid One could not answer to the assignment designated by the evil one against the work of God. What is it about your name that is affecting the world you are living?  
It is recorded in Acts 4:36-37; “And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” This report was recorded for a purpose, and it speaks volume to any man that will pay attention. The meaning of Joses was not reported for the purpose of storytelling, but to call to attention the man whose name means encouragement, which was indeed an encouragement to the body of believers. Joses was living to the meaning of his name, and that can be seen as being in the center of his calling. Right after the documentation of Joses, Ananias and Sapphire’s case came up. Ananias, whose name means Yahweh, graciously sold his possessions just like Joses, but he kept back part of all that he got from the sale. Ananias failed to live up to his name. Ananias refused to be gracious when and where he needed to be, and as a result, he removed himself from the center of his assignment, and died an instant and untimely death. Anytime there is a failure of not living by what you are called you set yourself up for untimely termination from the center of your divine assignment. Get to know your name, know yourself and live life to God’s divine assignment for you.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to fully understand and answer to your name.

FAITH CAPSULE: God owes man nothing except that man owes God all the glory and honor.

EXODUS 14:10-31

It is written, “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:9-11) He is a good God and He is worthy of all glory and honor and thanks. Why not allow only giving glory and honor and thanks become all that you live life to do? Allow your prayer and supplication to become rooted in giving glory and honor with giving thanks to God. Paul knew exactly what he was saying when he stated, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, and let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) God owes man nothing except that man owes God all the glory and honor. Out of His goodness and mercy, He gave to us love and the Bible states it, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Just as the children of Israel received their deliverance from the bondage of over four hundred years when God sent Moses to them, so we have received our deliverance today when God sent His Jesus.
To those who receives and believes in Jesus everlasting becomes their portion. Believing and receiving Him becomes the only way out of every trap of hell. He came and shed His precious blood on the Cross of Calvary. The children of Israel, despite their deliverance, the Pharaoh in their life refused to give up on chasing them because of the hardness of his heart. Pharaoh pursued them by going after them with all of his might while the children of Israel remained trapped between the Red Sea and the chariots of Pharaoh. The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, engaged in this operation because, “…The Lord had hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel…” Have you received Jesus and yet the Pharaoh in your life persists and refuses to give up chasing after you? Do you feel trapped in between the modern day Red Sea and the chariots of Pharaoh? Just like the children of Israel, are you experiencing hindrance in your ways and it all look like you were finished? Is your case anywhere close to that of the Israelites?

Prayer for today: Ask God to move on my behalf and gain all the glory and honor over all that represents Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus our Lord and savior rose on the third when the devil thought it was over for Jesus.

Genesis 40

Prison, confinement, hindrance or denial could come in a way or any form to deny and reduce man from his ground of elevation. Pharaoh was angry when he sent two of his officers, the chief butler and the chief baker; to prison (Genesis 40:2). The two chiefs lost their ground where they have been help up high. Prison is the least expected place in your journey of life because your entire walk has been in abiding with the law of the land. A butler in Pharaoh’s palace descended from the position of chief to prison. The story is easy to read but not easy to live. There is always a way out for every child of God whose righteousness is in Christ Jesus. The only way out is in prayer. Psalmist stated, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” (Psalm 34:15) The Bible also declared that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Besides the fact that it was mentioned that Pharaoh was angry, there was no indication of the offense of chief butler and the chief baker. When the third day of the chief butler arrived, prison became history while deliverance had its way. It does not matter what, how long, or where you have been kept down, it is certain that when your third day comes, you will rise.
Pray for your third day and it will prevail. It is written, “Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and chief baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”(Genesis 40:20). God will restore you and you shall regain all that has been lost in multiple folds in Jesus name. Jesus our Lord and savior rose on the third when the devil thought it was over for Jesus. The devil made an unrecoverable mistake using Judas to get Jesus down to the grave for three days. Have you at any time felt that it is over? You have lost a ground that has held you high in the community or among colleagues. It is clear that there will be no way for you to get back to your lost ground. It is not over for you if you have Christ as your land and savior. Have you receive and believe in the story or His death and resurrection? If you have received Jesus as your Lord and savior, your righteousness in Him shall answer for you deliverance.

Prayer for today: Ask God to restore you and cause His face to shine on you that you may have life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Allow the testimony of His resurrection to rule your heart and you shall be blessed.

John 20:1-18

Mary Magdalene, by virtue of who she was, she would not have had a place in the presence of God. We serve a merciful God. Interestingly, the Bible described Mary Magdalene as the one that was healed of evil spirits and infirmities. (Luke 8:1) Mary Magdalene was the last at the cross and the first one at the grave. She was a close follower of Jesus. It is written about Mary Magdalene, “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” (John 20:1-2) She was the first to announce to the disappearance of the body of Jesus from the grave. Mary could have been looking to the disciples for an answer for the disappearance of the body of Jesus from the grave. The Mary that was healed from evil spirits became the Mary which revealed and announcing the resurrection of Jesus to the disciples. Mary Magdalene was actually seeking after Jesus but not after material gain. Crucifixion of Jesus meant so much to Mary.
After Mary had gone on to report to the disciples, the disciples came looking but could not wait before going back to their homes but Mary waited at the grave side. It is written, “Mary stood outside of the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stopped down and looked into the tomb.”  Eventually, Jesus who could not be kept in the grave showed up to Mary Magdalene stating, “…woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15) Are you sincerely seeking to access Him? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior? Mary Magdalene might have been a woman with no good reputation but she became the first messenger of post-resurrection of Jesus. What is holding you from accepting Him as your Lord and savior? Do you carry Him in your heart or in your mouth? Keeping the testimony of resurrection will propel your seeking Jesus like Mary did. The book of psalm stated, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.” (Psalm 119:2) In this time of the season, allow the testimony of His resurrection to rule your heart and you shall be blessed. Jesus is alive!

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to seek Him diligently.