FAITH CAPSULE: Relocate your life into the Word of God.

Joshua 1:1-9             

Allow your new beginning to be a season of God’s fulfillment by living a God full life. All that it takes to live a life of God’s fulfillment is to be constantly filled and be full of the Word of God which was in the beginning with God. The Bible described the Word, “…the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1: 1-5).
Spending time on the Word of God is spending time to listen to the voice God speak to you. The Bible makes us to realize that, “if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2) God was speaking to the children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land. What God said to one speaks to all. It is good to listen to the Word of God, but it is not enough when there is no obedience to what His Word says to you. Without observing what the Word says, the chance of doing what the Word says is not possible. God said it in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.” The Word of God demands meditation day and night before it becomes a thing of observation. Until the Word of God becomes what you constantly and consistently observe and do, living God’s fulfillment is not possible.
Be constantly filled and become full of the Word of God. God is not talkative, but when He talks it has to be activated for manifestation. When you are full of Him, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon becomes yours; no man shall be able to stand against you; Word (God) shall be will be with you; He shall not leave you nor forsake you; your way shall be prosperous and you will have good success. (Joshua 1:5-8) In your new season, be full and be filled by the Word of God which cannot be broken. Relocate your life into the Word of God and God will locate you in every area of life to bless you.      

Prayer for today: Ask for God to direct your heart into the love of engaging in studying, understanding and living by His Word.  

FAITH CAPSULE: The power to heal comes with the power to believe and receive.

Matthew 12:1-14

Having a withered hand is occupying a situation that cannot be unnoticed; it calls for attention. Once on a Sabbath day, in a synagogue, the Pharisees knew quite well that a man who had withered hand was going to catch Jesus’ attention when they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. (Matthew 12:9), Jesus’ answer demonstrated the importance of doing that which is good and the placement of good deeds above the law. He points out that law is not a reason to be excused from caring for others. Most importantly, He pointed out how valuable is man when He stated, “Of how much more value than is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:12). Jesus the tenderhearted shepherd, the caring and compassionate master, after answering the Pharisees now turned His attention to the man with withered hand, “Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.” (Matthew 12:13). Just a word from Jesus terminated the mark of shame and mockery and put restored glory to the withered vessel.
What is it that is withered in your life? Among the words synonymous with “withered” is decay, wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, waste, etc. To be withered in any area of life is not what can be hidden but what a man can be healed and be delivered from, just as the man with the withered hand got his healing and deliverance from Jesus’s word.
It was the healing power in the word of God that healed the man with withered hand. Jesus spoke to him, “Stretch out your hand.” The power to heal comes with the power to believe and receive. When the healing word of Jesus found the man with withered hands, there was no doubt in his heart as he stretched out his hands as commanded by Jesus. Self-recognition and acceptance is a very important step and so pivotal to getting delivered. If you will behold Him in His word of healing and say to yourself, “I am coming out in Jesus name” you have loosened yourself from whatever tie you down and lay claim to deliverance by confession. Remember, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21). Also, the power to get satisfied with good is through the mouth. Proverbs 12:14, “A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth.” Jesus buttresses the power of self-deliverance by stating, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) He went further to let us know that with good treasure of the heart one is able to bring forth good things. (Matthew 12:35)

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be delivered from every form of being withered

FAITH CAPSULE: The touch of His hand is healing and His hand inhabits deliverance.  

Exodus 3

In the hand of God there are all kinds of blessings such as: deliverance, healing, preservation and every good thing a man can desire for. The same hand of God that delivers blessing is not immune to delivering destruction where any course of action calls for destruction. Moses was accounting for how the Israelites took to their journey through to the Promised Land when he testifies about the hand of God that went against the Israelites, “For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed.” (Deuteronomy 2:15) Without doubt, man will experience the delivering or destructive hand of God by virtue of man’s choice to obey or disobey God. All the Israelites that despised the word of God were destroyed and could not see nor step on their Promised Land. The touch of His hand is healing and His hand inhabits deliverance. It was the hand of God that brought the Israelites out of the bondage of over four hundred years and set them in journey to the Promised Land. It is written, “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.” (Exodus 3:20)  Are you conscious of the kind of hand of God which you are working for as you engage living life daily?
The same hand of God yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is consistent and He will not change in extending the kind of His hand that we desire by virtue of our walk in Him. Jesus the Lord of lords, the healing healer, most gracious and merciful was at no time recorded for walking away from extending healing hands when a need calls for it. The bible documents it in Luke 5:12-13, “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.”” Jesus’ hand will clean every stain of mockery if you will call for the extension of His healing hand. A man that was full of leprosy fell on his face to ask for his cleansing and he received his cleansing. Leprosy without any doubt is an agent of shame, embarrassment and mockery. Is there any way or anyhow you have been experiencing shame, mockery or any kind of disease or situation that is causing you from not being able to present yourself where you have a need? He is a prayer answering Father.

Prayer for today: Ask for the healing hand of God, the delivering hand of God and the hand of God that preserves to locate you in every area of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus came to give Himself as a present; a gift for all who will accept Him.

Luke 14:16-22

Jesus came to a synagogue in Nazareth where He was brought up, “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.’” (Luke 4:17-19)Jesus identified Himself by pointing out the gifts that He had brought to every man and none could relate with all that He was reading, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah long before the birth of Jesus. Today many know His name and many celebrate His birth, but greater numbers are yet to accept His gift. Jesus came to give Himself as a present; a gift for all who will accept Him. Jesus declared, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)How can you not hear His knock of gift? Jesus, the Anointed One, is here to heal every broken heart but the brokenhearted are not opening their doors and He will not force Himself to enter someone’s heart that is broken and needs to be fixed.
The Spirit of the Lord that He, Jesus, was carrying is a gentle Spirit; not a forceful or competitive spirit. The captives remain captive because they have yet to capitalize in on the privilege of grace that came for their freedom. The blind remain blind because they refuse to look up to Jesus. Many are attempting to see through other gods instead of theOne and Only God. Also, many are putting man in the place of Jesus and by that virtue, the vision is not clear enough for them to move in the right direction. Jesus is the Lord and Savior and that demands looking up to God through Jesus. The birth of Jesus made salvation available and that cannot be manipulated nor monopolized by any man because it is not from man, but rather is from God to every man. Jesus came for the poor so that He can make them rich in the things of the Lord. Knowing about Jesus is half knowledge and to know Jesus is not enough when your behavior does not comprehend with Him. Jesus wants us to be like Him and to be like Him is to behave like Him. Do you believe in Him? If you believe in Jesus, then behave like Jesus. Behaving like Jesus is being known in Him. Behaving like Jesus is not of determination, but it is by the grace of God.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be known in Him today.

FAITH CAPSULE: Take time and examine your walk with God or your walk before God.

Matthew 14:22-33

It is written, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) Enoch walked with God and he could not miss his step on earth. It was recorded for Noah, “…Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”(Genesis 6:9) The perfection in the life of Noah was the evidence of his walk with God. The bible also recorded Abram’s walk God stating, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” (Genesis 17:1-2) Enoch walked with God, Noah walked with God, Abram walked before God and they all live to the fulfillment of their destiny by not falling away from God. As days, weeks, months and years are passing, can you take time and examine your walk with God or your walk before God? To walk with God or to walk before God is walking in God.  Are you walking in the Lord or outside of the Lord? When you walk in the Lord, every step that you take will be committed unto God. When you walk in the Lord, He will be involved in your entire decision making.
As a believer, it is important to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Are you allowing the Holy Spirit take control in your walk? The Spirit will not force Himself upon you, because He is a gentle spirit. It is written, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) Jesus points it out to us, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) The word of God is the spirit of God. (Believers have much to gain by walking in the Spirit, and that it why it is necessary for a believer to stay focused on the Lord. Peter walked on water because he was able to maintain his focus when the Word commanded him to. When he lost focus from the Word, he began to sink. Are you focusing on Him despite delays in having your prayers answered? Is the noise of the multitude which is growing all around you, grounding you out? Acts 9:31, “Then the churches throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit they were multiplied.” Without any doubt, walking in Him brings comfort and multiplication of blessings in every area of life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to walk in Him in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.