FAITH CAPSULE: Do you know Him or you only know about him?

1 Samuel 3

Knowing God for who He is will make the difference but to only know about God makes no difference. One who only knows about the Lord and attempt to take a position as one who knows the Lord can be possibly exposed to danger. The itinerant Jewish exorcists did not know the Lord but only know about the Lord when they attempted to call on Jesus and deliver people from evil spirit. It is written, “Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We[ exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” (Acts 19:13) The exorcists’ statement, “…by the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches” is an indication of not knowing Jesus. As a result, they could not get any positive result for their prayer but a negative response which allowed the evil spirit to overpower them and prevailed against them. Interesting about the situation is that, the evil spirit recognized the Jewish itinerant and responded saying, “…Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15) The exorcist flee naked and wounded when the evil spirit jumped on them. They do not know the Lord.
Do you know Him or you only know about him?    
It is written I Samuel 3:1, “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” The fact that the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli was not evident that Samuel knew God, but only knew about God. When the Lord called Samuel, Samuel does not know God to answer God. It is written, “Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)” (1 Samuel 3:6-7) Samuel does not know God and could not answer like the one that knows God. Knowing God is what makes the difference. Eli helped Samuel to gain understand and to know when God calls by saying, “…go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears…” (1 Samuel 3:9) Samuel’s knowledge helped when “the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:10) The boy Samuel understood how to hear from God and that made the difference in all the days of his life. Gain understanding of knowing Him and you will be enabled in your living for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know Him more in all your ways.

FAITH CAPSULE: A waiting that lacks patience is a wasting of time.

Psalm 40

In life, stagnation, frustration, condemnation and termination are among situations that often reduce man into a state of mockery. It is not a pleasant situation for a man to be. In Psalm 39:8, King David prayed a prayer stating, “Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish.” Without doubt, transgression will reduce man and become a reproach of the foolish but prayer will reverse man from reproach of the foolish. Is there any situation that marks you for mockery? One thing is clear and certain and that is, God is God that reverses the irreversible if man will wait patiently on God for His intervention. David shared how he was brought out of the state of mockery, a place where he was made to become a reproach of the foolish. It was a place where motion was no longer part of his living, a place of stagnation, a place of frustration and a place that was set to terminate his journey of life. Psalm 40:1-2, “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.” Praying and getting answer from God will always demand waiting patiently on God.
King David claimed to have waited patiently before he overcame. Waiting will fail when it is not in patience. A waiting that lacks patience is a wasting of time. A waiting without expectation in getting the attention of God is also a waste of time. Waiting without patience can be identified as not being faith-full but faith-short. Waiting on God with patience is an evidence of faithfulness.  Is there any area where you are waiting on God in expectation? Are you waiting patiently or you are wasting away? Wait on God patiently and He will attend to you. King David made us recognize that God inclined (to lower or bend head as to give a nod) to him in his waiting. God heard King David’s cry. King David’s waiting delivered him from the horrible pit which represented a situation or condition where there was no way out for him. He also came out of the miry clay that represented a slippery ground; a ground that took away his ability of maintaining firmness in his stand. King David’s waiting yielded positively. He came out of being a reproach of the foolish and gained his footing on the rock to stay. Imitate the man after God’s own heart and you will be connected with God who weighs the action of the heart. Trust Him, wait on Him patiently and He attend to you.

 
Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from all of my transgressions and become a reproach of the foolish.

FAITH CAPSULE: Being weary is to be physically or mentally exhausted.

2 Samuel 17

Fear is the enemy’s weapon to bring man to fall and fail; it is encased in being weak and weary. At any time a man is in a vulnerable situation, the enemy will pursue so that falling or failing becomes inevitable. When Absalom the son of King David planned to unseat his father as king, King David became exposed and fled with his followers. Absalom attempted to completely deny David from coming back to regain power, he sought advice from Ahithophel (Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather, a wise counselor that switched his support from David to Absalom)Ahithophel advised Absalom, “Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and weak, and make him afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will strike only the king.Then I will bring back all the people to you. When all return except the man whom you seek, all the people will be at peace…” (2 Samuel 17:1-3) Ahithophel was a man with high reputation whose counsel was taken to be equivalent to a word from God. Ahithophel gave an advice that clearly demonstrates the effect of fear. With God’s mercies, Ahithophel’s potent advice was replaced with Hushai’s impotent advice that was not enough to terminate King David.
Exemplified in the advice of Ahithophel is a clear pattern of how fear often takes its turn to bring man down. When man enters into a vulnerable situation, his enemy will engage in pursuing him relentlessly (as was the first plan of Ahithophel to bring down King David). Being pursued relentlessly has great tendency to cause one to succumb and become weary and weak. With weariness and weakness having its place in man’s life, becoming filled with fear steps in. One who becomes weary in the days of adversity is encoded in Proverbs 24:10 as been small in strength.
Are you in any vulnerable situation which you can identify as one that is beginning to get you wary and weak? In your vulnerable situation, if you have transited from being weary and weak to becoming apprehensive it is time to pay attention to avoid falling and failing.
Being weary is to be physically or mentally exhausted; it is also a direct avenue to occupying the attention of any of its victim. As a believer, are you weary and weak in any area of living life? The word of God speaks to everyone that believes, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31) Do not be weary wait on God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to always wait in the face of any challenge.

FAITH CAPSULE: Take to the word of God, His word is true to perform and to perfect; His word is mighty.

John 1:1-19

It is written in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts”   What is preventing you from taking Him by His word over the challenges of your world?Jesus is the word of God and the word of God is the way of God. Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) The same God yesterday and forever spoke in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” His word is true and it will never fail to perform what He said it will perform.
God has spoken, who are we not to believe? All that the Lord said has come to be and His word is still coming to pass just as He said it. Despite the truthfulness of His word, man continues to demonstrate fear when there is a need to demonstrate faith.
The same word of God encourages only those that will take courage in His word. It is written in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” God has never lied and He will not lie; God is consistent in His word unlike man. Will you be willing to take all your challenges up to Him in prayer while letting anxiousness fail to prevail in your life?
Just a reminder, the same word of God stated in Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” God does not lie and He will never lie. If you will carefully identify yourself with the word of God His identity will reflect in your ways. His word says a gathering of two or three together in His name will draw His presence. Why not faithfully allow His word to have its way? Do not allow yourself to be limited by your thoughts but let your thoughts in the word of God reign and rule over your entire situation. Take to the word of God, His word is true to perform and to perfect; His word is mighty.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to enable you to engage His word constantly.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you touching God’s anointed negatively by action or word?

Numbers 16

God that loves is also true to perform all of His word. God is a righteous God and never judge wrongly. He is God that shall never fail to honor His word. Psalmist testifies in Psalm 138:2, “I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”  God takes His word serious by magnifying His word above all His name.
Psalm 105: 15 testifies to the Word of God, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” God meant what He said and He will do what is right. Those who are called unto God, which are separated unto Him and they are not to be humiliated in any way. Have you been part of a disparaging group that takes a stand against whom the Lord has placed upon their life?
The Bible talked about how Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben led a rebellious act against Moses the anointed of God. Numbers 16:2-3, “…they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?’” Are you a part of group like that of Korah and his company? Such company is a rebellious company that is set for self-destruction. God is serious about His word forever. In the case of Moses, he did not fight back for himself and there is no need for any anointed to fight back; rather let the Lord fight your battle for you. Moses took his case up to God. Fighting our battle cannot bring forth a better result like when He fights for us. Moses, with God on his side responded to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.” (Numbers 16:4-5)  Are you touching God’s anointed negatively by action or word? To Korah and his company, they all went down alive into the pit. The earth closed over them and they perished from among the assembly. Stay away from Korah’s company.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from taking a part in any conscious and unconscious rebellious act.