FAITH CAPSULE: Labor which takes man away from serving God is also a labor without His rest.

Matthew 11:25-30

In the life of a man, labor is inevitable or else stealing will become acceptable to one who does not engage labor. Ones who do not labor will be stealing. The book of Ephesians 4:28 buttresses, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” As one who confesses Christ, has your labor become heavy and backed with struggle? Laboring is of God but laboring that inhabits heavy laden is not of God. The word of God commands in Exodus 20:9, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” Apparently, any labor that is outside of God’s command becomes heavy laden, a kind of labor which takes away man from serving Him? God encourages us to labor but not to allow labor to overtake us from serving Him. Labor which takes man away from serving God is also a labor without His rest.
Claiming to have known Him is not enough until one begin to lay hold on the promises which are encased in the word of God. Are you an acclaimed believer that has been laboring long enough and yet your burden continues to be heavy. What is it that could have gone wrong? Why does your burden remain heavy when it is supposed to be light? Jesus has not spoken and failed to do what He says He will do. There is a message of invitation in His communication when He stated, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) There is a place of rest from labor and that place is inside of your deliberate response to His call and going to Him to let out your heavy laden. In the letting out of your heavy laden, you will exchange it for His yoke. He said it in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” His yoke is not heavy, but it is demanding. Jesus’ yoke demands that we learn and when we are able to learn, we shall live by what is learned from Him. A failure to live with a gentle and lowly heart is the evidence of not having learned from Him. As an acclaimed believer, examine yourself; look at the source of all your heavy laden labor which lack rest. You will found out that you have not been operating what you claim to have learned. Take to the Word of God and He will take up your heavy laden. He said it all in Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Do not rust out; rest in Him.

 Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of complete obedience to His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Any way outside the way of God is a way into self- destruction.

Proverbs 16  

Which way are you taking? Any way outside the way of God is a way into self- destruction. God has His way and His ways are in His word. The way of God is to give life. Jesus declared in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” The way of God is deliverance and it is preservation. The way of God always carries the presence of God. It has not been documented of anyone who has taken to the way of God and ended up in destruction. It has, however, been documented and it is evident that all who have taken to their own way ended up in destruction.
Which way are you taking? Are you claiming the way of God while taking the way outside of God? God cannot be deceived; God cannot be mocked and He sees where we are coming from and to where we are going. Hannah testifies that God is a God of knowledge and by Him all actions are weighed. (1Samuel 2:3)   
When there is a will or desire to walk in His way, He will guide your feet to walk in His way. I Samuel 2:9 identify the blessing walking His way stating, “He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.”
Have you considered which way you have been taking recently? The ways you have taken in the past will not matter compared to the ways you are taking now. Take to the way of God and God will take you beyond your expectation. He is a faithful God. As a true believer of Christ, engage self-examination and trust God for the grace to walk the way of God. A time of self- examination is not a time of self-deception. If you are a believer deceiving all that surrounds you, know it that God cannot be deceived but one can only deceive self and surroundings. The book of Proverbs 16:2 buttress the need to know that God does not see as man sees stating, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes; but the LORD weighs the spirits.” Will you be sincere with yourself and let God redirect your steps into His way?
God wants to be pleased with how we walk in His way. God is not pleased without faith. Walking in His way is walking in faith. It is for man’s good to walk in His way and please God. With pleasing God come the blessings of God. Among blessings provoked by walking the way God is stated in Proverbs 16:7, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”  

Prayer for the day: Ask for God to guide your feet that you walk only in His way.

FAITH CAPSULE: As an individual, you do have the choice of peace in Him.

John 16

Let your choice the name of Jesus. Anywhere under the heaven the power to heal and to be delivered from every activity of the wicked in life is perfectly in the name of Jesus. It is written, “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11) Do you believe that He lives? If you truly believe that Jesus is alive and He is your Lord and savior why not consciously call on His name commanding all which is militating against you to bow? 
In all His messages, there is life and power to anyone who makes his or her choice in the word of Jesus. Let your choice be Jesus and give yourself to hearing in of His word. When you begin to hear, hearing will then bring forth faith. Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Despite all available means of communication, not all are receiving His message. This is why peace and hope is having no proper place in the life of man including most who claim to have received and accepted Him as the Lord and Savior. Jesus says “these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) What He said to one, He has said it to all. As an individual, you do have the choice of peace in Him if your choice is in the name of Jesus. That is why He said you “may have peace”. Tribulation is a certainty and that is why He said you will have tribulation in this world. In this world, tribulation will come not only to unbelievers but to all. However, there is a way out of tribulation and the way is to choose Him and encounter that tribulation with peace or you can rather please yourself and the enemy in tribulation without Him.
If you have confessed Christ but your lifestyle does not demonstrate Christ, you are living in self-denial. Is there any doubt about your relationship with Christ? Today is the day of your reckoning; make adjustments where there is a need. Proverbs 12:21, “No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil.” The days we are now living are days of trouble. Trouble and tribulation will come, but because you have chosen Him, you are bound to overcome because our righteousness is in Christ Jesus.

Prayer for today: Ask the Lord to uphold you in every area of your confession, that you may live a life that is centered in the name of Jesus.

FAITH CAPSULE: Until you lose yourself you cannot be full of Christ.    

2 Kings 5

God is not a slave master who will force us to worship and it makes it the more reason why engaging worshipping God is a choice to be made by individual. Elisha could not substitute anything for following in line of worship when he separated himself fully to his master Elijah. Gehazi, a servant of Elisha was in position to follow fully like Elisha did with Elijah. Gehazi failed because he could not separate himself from material gain. After Naaman was healed of leprosy Elisha refused the entire material gift. It was the same material gift which Gehazi went back to collect from Naaman without the approval of Elisha that caused the termination of Gehazi from following Elisha fully. (2 Kings 5:20-27) Gehazi ended up a leper and could not attain his potential following Elisha.
As an acclaimed believer, what are you full of? Is it material gain or self? What is it that is denying you to worship God fully by following Jesus Christ fully? Jesus said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Are you following Him fully or will you follow Him fully? Until you lose yourself you cannot be full of Christ.    
Worshipping God is living godly. Godliness is counting on nothing but the One that sustains the breath in us. Counting on only God makes us content. To be content is an avenue to depart from temptation. The bible says, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” (1Timothy 6:6-8) Living ungodly is placing one’s destiny in line of termination. Above all, worshipping God in truth and in spirit is our only avenue to the great road and it demands we flee from all ungodliness and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. (1Timothy 6:11-12) Living to worship God is engaging a great road. Roberts Liardon put it better stating, “The road that is great before God has the most resistance upon it. You’ll never find greatness in the things of God without a battle; you’ll never find change without confrontation…”  It is important to know that living for God will continue to encounter incessant confrontations and we are to cease not by engaging living for our jealous God who yearns for our attention. Worship God; follow fully; give Him all the attention; He wants to be the Lord of our lives.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to follow fully so that you gain the fullness of Christ.

FAITH CAPSULE: Separation to God is the avenue which leads to assessing and possessing all that God has in place.

Genesis 32

Worshiping God is separation unto God and it is an evidence of believing God. To be separated unto God is to find Him. Seeing God is impossible where one is surrounded by the filth of this wicked world. Seeking (worshiping) God demands all of our being and those that are able to seek Him diligently shall be rewarded because He is a re warder of those who seek Him diligently. (Hebrews 11:6) Separation unto His command is always a high order of worship whenever man obediently becomes separated. Abraham separated as commanded by God when he answered to God’s calling to depart his country, his family and his father’s house to a land unknown to him. (Genesis 12:1-2) Every separation to God counts before God and commits God to count on one for uncommon or special assignment. Abraham’s separation to the word of God was accounted to him for righteousness because it was evidence that he believed God. (Romans 4:3)
Separation to God is the avenue which leads to assessing and possessing all that God has in place for any that is able to obediently separate to Him. Like Abraham, for Jacob to encounter and enter into his divine assignment there was a need for separation from all which he possessed. It is written, “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) Until Jacob was completely separated from all, God could not engage him on his ground for name changing which channeled him to the center of God’s divine assignment for his life. Elisha needed to be separated from all and follow Elijah fully before he could be impacted with the spirit that flowed in Elijah. After Elisha’s encounter with the mantle of Elijah, he left all but wanted to hold on to his father and mother when he was sent back by Elijah. (1 Kings 19:19-20) Elijah realized the need for complete separation in the life of Elisha when he sent him back. As a result, “Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant. (1 Kings 19:21) Elisha engaged worship when he became separated from all and set himself for his divine assignment, following Elijah fully.

Prayer for today:

Ask God to revive you according to His lovingkindness so that you may be fully obedient to His calling.