FAITH CAPSULE: Be conscious of the world you are living and leave no ground for entanglement.

Genesis 39, Judges 16

The world today is a battle field. The main enemy is constantly on a killer mode. His name is the wicked one and is here to devour by seeking to steal, to kill and to destroy. Without becoming an army of God it is failure to engage the battles of this world. Are you an army of God? If you are an army of God; an acclaimed believer the Word of God warns, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2Timothy 2:4) God called you for a purpose and qualified you for a divine assignment. Samson is a considerable soldier for God. Samson was enticed and he entangled with Delilah. Samson’s entanglement with Delilah’s enticement exposed him to eventual termination from life. It is written, “And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”(Judges 16:5-6) The lords of the Philistines used Delilah to entice Samson for the revelation of his God’s secret for his divine assignment.
Joseph purposely refused to entangle with the world. The Bible recorded how his master’s wife operated as an agent for the wicked in her attempt to terminate Joseph from living to fulfill his divine assignment. It is written, “So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.” (Genesis 39:10) Enticement failed to work for his master’s wife when Joseph refused to become entangled with the affairs of this life. Without doubt, persistency is also the enemy’s weapon and that is meant to bring man down. With Samson, after three failed attempts, Delilah “…pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:16-17) Unlike Joseph, Samson succumbs to enemy’s persistence for his entanglement. Be conscious of the world you are living and leave no ground for entanglement.
Prayer for today: Ask God that those who seek to destroy you should go into the lower parts of the earth.

FAITH CAPSULE: The hand of God is more than capable to relocate you ahead of your adversaries.

Exodus 3:13-22

Psalmist describes the hand of God, “For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.” (Psalm 95:3-5) What do you desire in this month of the “miracle of the third day”? If there is anything to desire, it should be for the hand of God. The hand of God is mighty in deliverance and restoration. It takes only the hand of God for the Israelites to come out the bondage of over four hundred years. It does not matter what has kept you grounded for years if you will desire for God’s hand intervention, breakthrough miracle will answer for you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. God that knows the end from the beginning knew that words would not be enough for Moses to get Pharaoh committed to the deliverance of over four hundred years.  It is written in Exodus 3:19-20, “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.” Deliverance was manifested through the hand of God. Without the hand of God in operation, it would have been a no go for the children of Israel.
Elijah needed the hand of God to run ahead his adversary. The book of 1Kings 18:46 documented, “Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” Elijah did not have to be behind but ahead. As a result of the Lord’s hand, Elijah moved from behind to being ahead of the king Ahab who was riding on the chariot. Whatever challenge has been put in place to keep you behind, the hand of God is more than capable to relocate you ahead of your adversaries.
Discouragement will fail where the hand of God is place. Ezra needed to overcome discouragement when he stated, “…so I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me” (Ezra 7:28) Ask for the hand of God constantly in every area of living life. It is the same hand of God that Nehemiah testified as the reason for getting the project of reconstruction through in Jerusalem. It is written in Nehemiah 2:18, “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me…” Allow His hand to be your desire.
 
Pray for today: Ask God to cause His hand to reign and rule in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: When waiting longer period becomes painful, praising and giving thanks should be the antidote. 

Psalm 69

Waiting on God is timeless. It can take longer than expected or shorter than expected when we are waiting to hear from God. The waiting that takes “Mr. A” a short time before getting an answer can take “Mr. B” a longer time to get his answer from God. One thing is certain, where there is waiting before God, none can wait and become wasted. God never fails because time is in His hand and He can answer at the first hour or at the eleventh hour. God is God and no one controls the timing of God.
King David, once at a time of waiting for God’s salvation, testified his experience by stating, “Save me, O God! for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (Psalm 69:1-3)
King David encountered a grave challenge that stretches from being in deep mire where he could not stand to deep waters where the floods overflow him. In the face of his challenge, however, he waited on God. For him, there was no sign of any answer coming forth for his deliverance but yet he had no back-up plan but to wait. Indeed, faith does not have a back-up plan but to wait without ceasing.
King David, in his waiting, kept on praying when he stated, “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink…” (Psalm 69:13-14) Prayer and expectation is the anchor of waiting and David demonstrated it. In time of waiting on God where there is no expectation for getting an answer from God, when the answer comes from God one might not recognize the answer for the purpose of waiting. Waiting demands persistency and expectation for manifestation.
When waiting longer period becomes painful, praising and giving thanks should be the antidote. King David testifies, “But I am poor and sorrowful; let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:29-30) David did not stop expecting despite his challenge but he rather kept on praising and magnifying God with thanksgiving.
God is good and He will never allow our waiting to become wasted in His sight without acting on our behalf.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be able to wait with expectation and not be moved when challenges calls for waiting on Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not hold back your love from God.

Deuteronomy 6, Numbers 25


To fear of God is the reason of God’s commandment. Deuteronomy 6:1-3, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God…” Fearing God is to love Him. Encased in loving God is obedience to all His commands. Failure to obey God is a failure to fear Him and not to love Him. God expects us to love Him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) God is the Master creator and He does not demand from us what cannot be done in all of His word.
The book of 1Timothy also points it out that love (fear of God) is the purpose of the command. It is written, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1Timothy 1:5) God’s standard is set in His word which does not return back to Him void and we are to live in compliance to His standard. Ones that keep their heart with all diligence will no doubt love with pure heart. Loving with pure heart is the only access to His presence just as stated by Jesus, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
An acclaimed faithful without good conscience is fault-full and falls short as expected by God’s standard. Paul the apostle acknowledges the importance of faith with good conscience when he testified before the council, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1) As an acclaimed faithful, one must avoid becoming fault-full by consciously engaging faithfulness with good conscience.
Loving from sincere faith is to be living with passion for the name of God like Phinehas the son of Eleazar who turned back the wrath of God from the children of Israel. The Israelites, while under God’s judgment for their harlotry in Moab, one of the children of Israel came with a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the entire congregation who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Phinehas reacted when he rose from among the congregation; he took a javelin and went after the man of Israel and killed him and the woman. God acknowledge Phineas’ zeal (Passion) and the plague stopped among the Israelites. (Numbers 25:6-11) Love is sincere; sincere faith is without reservation for God’s glory. True love for God is to fear God Know the purpose of God’s command; do not hold back your love from God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to enable your heart to retain His words; that you may keep His commands and live.

FAITH CAPSULE: The angels of the Lord will always camp around those who fear Him.

Daniel 6:16-24

It is written, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12) Angels of God does not attend to man by accident except God charge His angel to attend. Psalmist testifies of what it takes for God to charge His angels by stating, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those that fear Him, and delivers them.”(Psalm 34:7)
What can be a better blessing than to fear the name of the Most High God?Do you fear God? Indeed, if you fear God, invincible and impenetrable hedges which no force of evil can penetrate will surround you. Daniel feared God and nothing formed against him prospered. Daniel was sentenced to death by a lion’s mouth. While he was in the den of lions, an undeniable miracle prevailed because of his fear for His Lord God. After spending all night in the den of hungry lions, he responded to his adversary, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:22) The same God that shut the mouths of hungry lions all night is still in position to do the same to those who fear Him.
The same God sent horses and chariots of fire to surround Elisha and his servant as a measure of protection against the forces of Syrian in their attempt to terminate Elisha’s life before God’s appointed time for Elisha (2 Kings 6:17). The same God also built an invincible hedge which Satan found impenetrable around Job. The same God is still building His protection around all those who fear His name. Just like Daniel, can you be found innocent before Him? Can it be that you have done no wrong to anyone in a place of authority over you? Daniel was found innocent, guiltless, and blameless before God and he did not wrong the authority over him. As a result, the canopy of protection over his life could not fail. Indeed, Daniel, Elisha, and Job had the angels of the Lord encamped around them because they did not camp outside of obeying God’s command.
There is no better way for the book of Ecclesiastes to complete than stating, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Allow the fear of God to rule and reign your life. Live in the fear of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God to have a consistent place in your life.