FAITH CAPSULE: One’s location when deliverance comes to look for one will determine how one will be saved.

Genesis 19
 
When Sodom and Gomorrah was set to be destroyed because of sin and iniquity, God could not keep His plan away from Abraham but visited him and said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21) God in His inestimable mercy will not overlook sin but will make a way out for the righteous ones in the time of judgment.
Sodom was set to be destroyed and Lot was destined to be delivered. Lot could not miss his deliverance because he was in the right location at the right time. In life, it is not impossible for one to suffer from sudden and untimely destruction when one fails to be in the right location and at the right time. When the two angels sent by God came to Sodom, Lot was at the right place to be connected with God’s agent for his deliverance plan. Lot was not in an unusual location but at the right location. It is written, “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face toward the ground.” (Genesis 19:1)Are you conscious of your location in thesedays of wickedness? Are you paying attention to the time you are living? Where you are when deliverance comes to look for you will determine how you will be saved. It is one thing to be at the right place and at the right time; it is another to be able to identify that your deliverance is at hand. Rising and worshiping is an evidence of spiritual sensitivity. Lot saw them (angels) and rose to meet them. Lot also bowed himself to acknowledge them. Rising and worshiping when your deliverance comes knocking is important. Let every moment of your life be in focus for the hand of God to deliver when deliverance matters. How often have you seen people at the park or gate fall asleep? Lot could have slept and missed his deliverance. Because of the days in which we are living, and the depth of the sinful world, it is crucial for us to be constantly awake both in the spirit and the physical. Lot could not be found missing because he was under the banner of deliverance from the wickedness of his time.
 
Prayer for today: Ask that you will not misplace yourself under the banner of God’s protection when the time of deliverance is here.

FAITH CAPSULE: There is no substitute for obeying the commands of God.

1 Samuel 15
 
One that constantly fails to honor his/her own given word is going to be having tough challenge honoring the word of God that is not physical visible to man. Taking the place of not honoring God is failing to obey the command of God. After the failure of King Saul for not fully destroying the Amalekites as commanded by God, Saul was rejected as king. Samuel responded to Saul’s incomplete obedience to God’s direction stating, “…to obey is better sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) King Saul despised the word of God and he became a reject as a king. It is obedience to accept the word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. Have you accepted the word of God today?
A believer who is constantly disobedient to the Word of God is like a car speeding in the dark with its headlights turned off. It will only take one moment for the driver to have his life terminated. How long would a driver continue to drive in the dark without the headlights on? The question is important and needs to be addressed. God is a merciful and jealous God who desires constant attention from His creation, Exodus 34:14, “For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” To gain the attention of a jealous God requires sincere and consistent obedience before His holy name. It does not matter who you are in the Lord, neither does it count what role you play in the Kingdom of God’s business. If obedience is not in place, one’s walk with the Lord will not flourish and it will be replaced. Jesus’ mother and brothers received a warning that could have denied them their access to Him, Luke 8:19-21, “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You. But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” Do you desire to see Him when you look for Him just as His mother and brothers went to look for Him, or do you want to continue to ignore Him? You need to look for Him by calling on Him and making your way to Him through your obedience to His commands. There is no substitute for obeying the commands of God. It requires the grace of God for every believer to observe them.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to constantly walk in His commands.

FAITH CAPSULE: When the time is right before God, He will call you.

Exodus 2:11-25, 3:1-10
 
In Jesus’s parables:The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:16), The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:14) Jesus stated, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Just as many are called, but few are chosen so it is also possible that few are called and many answered. In the name of serving God; engaging Kingdom of God’s business, are you answering where you have not received any call from God?
Man cannot determine for God the timing of His calling. God’s timing is different from man’s timing. Are you deciding the time for yourself to be called for His assignment? God will call you when He is ready to use you. If you have received a call outside of His calling, you will end up out of God’s plan for your life. When God calls you, He will back you up and you will not fail. He will not allow any of His called to cross without Him caring for them. When He calls you, no weapon formed against you shall prosper and you shall know no failure. God called Samuel at a very young age and He constantly backed him up. The Bible testify, “So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” (1 Samuel 3:19)
Moses answered a call to help his Hebrew brethren when he was not called by God. He intervened in a fight between his Hebrew brethren and an Egyptian. In his support for his Hebrew brethren, he killed the Egyptian. He became a murderer, and it was used against him by his brethren. Exodus 2:15, “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.” He lived forty years in the palace, but had to flee all because he was not called when he called himself. It took another forty years for him to actually receive the call that allowed neither man nor weapon to stand against him and prevail. When the time is right before God, He will call you. Do not answer a call if God has not called you. God called Moses in at HisExodus 3:4, “So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’” He will call you if you will turn your head to Him and not depend on yourself or any other man.
 
Prayer for today: Ask God or the grace not to answer to self-call but to His calling.

FAITH CAPSULE: Is your situation changing you, or you are changing your situation for God’s glory?

Daniel 1:1-16
 
Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, were taken captive to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and besieged it. Without doubt, captivity was not the best interest for Daniel and his three friends but despising their God was not their choice. While in captivity the king requested for some of the captives “…in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.” (Daniel 1: 4-5) Daniel and his three friends were set to receive and increase as desired by the king but they refused to receive the kings offer which does not line up with their belief. Evidently there was nothing in place that matters enough to Daniel and his three friends to persuade them from their love for their God. The Bible recorded, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel and friends rejected the king’s offer and did not eat what was ordered by the king. They did not allow their situation to bring them to the level of unbelief. Daniel and his friends stood for God, whom they believed. Regardless of confronting challenges are you standing your ground in the Lord? Is your situation changing you, or you are changing your situation for God’s glory?
The growth of Daniel and three friends was to be tested to determine how well they responded in their growth from having been fed with King’s daily portions. The result of test revealed they appeared healthier than everyone else despite their refusal to take king’s daily portions. It is written,“And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the delicacies.”(Daniel 1:15) In addition to their appearance, they stood a better chance for breakthrough because they chose to be on the Lord’s side. Daniel and his friends refused to receive King Nebuchadnezzar because of their love for their God. Do not be conformed to what the world has offered you. Daniel did what was right before God He and his friends took their stand for God in the open. Above all, they did not lose, but gained by His grace.
 
Prayer for today:Ask for the grace to constantly do right before Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Have you ever thought about what is wrong with your heart?

Exodus 8:1-16
 
A believer that constantly acts out negatively is actually confessing what is inside of the heart. Engaging a wrong confession is complaining to God. Heart that complains is an act to rebel against God. Rebellion is despising the word of God. To despise His word is to be destroyed. Is complaining your portion? There is no act of complain that goes past God without God knowing. How is the state of your heart? Despising His word is an indication of hardened heart. Is your heart a hardened heart?
There is an adage that states, “When a dog is set to get lost it will not listen to hear the whistle of direction from the lost path.”King Pharaoh of Egypt was a typical example of one with a hardened heart. In the case of Pharaoh, he heard and he saw the hand of God, complete in power, being demonstrated right before his eyes. The Bible recorded Pharaoh’s response after the second plaguewhich bombarded the whole land of Egypt with heaps of frogs, “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.” (Exodus 8:15) Have you been operating Pharaoh consciously or unconsciously in response to the word of God? The wondrous works of God is everywhere declaring that God is near. Pharaoh did not listen to what Moses had to say for the release of the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Actually, it was not Pharaoh’s fault except that he happened to be a vessel of dishonor. Exodus 7:3, “And I will hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” Pharaoh did see many miracles, which should have been enough for him to let the Israelites go, but he refused to grant them exit out of Egypt because God had hardened his heart. You have seen manifold miracles from the time you were growing up, and you are still seeing them today, yet you find it difficult to let God have His way in your life. Have you ever thought about what is wrong with your heart? You have determined numerous times to give it all to Him, but it is not working. Indeed, determination will not work. If you sincerely desire to give it all to Him, enter into your prayer room and begin to ask Him for help. It is evident that God is the director of the heart. He alone will choose to direct it for us to love Him and not play hard. Desire the good one for yourself and He will deposit it in you.
 
Prayer for today: Personalize Paul’s prayer in2 Thessalonians 3:5, “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ”