FAITH CAPSULE: God is a good and extraordinarily patient God.

Proverbs 9

Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” The identity of an evil one is the lack of fear of God. How much of His fear do you carry in your life? The fear of God is way of life. “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.” (Proverb 14:26) Confidence: to have a full trust; belief in the power of God or reliability on what God can do. Confidence is the evidence of how we fear God. God is indeed a refuge; a strong and might tower for the ones who believe in Him. To fear God is to trust in God and to constantly demonstrate confidence in the face of challenge. Ones that trust God fears God.
Search your heart and identify if the fear of God is actually in you. “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.” (Proverb 14:27) Going by the above it is safe to say it that, not having the fear of the Lord is to be a living dead. How can a creature not fear His Creator? How often have you been in a creative position, but not having the needed patience, destroyed your creation to re-create because it did not come out the way you intended for it to come out? God is a good and extraordinarily patient God. He has put everything in place for us to have life in Jesus Christ and not die.
Have you ever considered the way that leads to life? It is written in Proverbs 19:23, “The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.” There are different ways of living life but the way of God is to abide in satisfaction where lack is strange and the evil one is constantly being denied. Jesus Christ made us to realize that He is the only way to life when He stated in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The only way is Jesus and ones that accept Him takes to the good way, truth and life. By this virtue, it can be concluded that it is wisdom to fear God and it is not enough to celebrate Him when there is no fear of Him. Just as another year begins to expire, understand it today that having life is not by merit but by the mercy of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to know Him and not depart from Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Does the word of God seem to be a joke to you?

Genesis19:1-29

It is written, “He sent His word to heal them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) To despise His word is to position one’s self for destruction. His word is true to perform for those that take to His word. The Bible makes us to understand that God magnify His word above all His name. (Psalm 138:2) Also, His word never goes back to Him without performing its purpose. (Isaiah 55:11)  
The word of God gives strong warnings concerning various issues of life. The warnings in the word of God are meant to make or break anyone who chooses to obey or disobey. Are you one that takes the word of God serious enough to fully obey? Among the warning in the word of God states that, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7) Despite this kind of warning, many acclaimed believer continues to approach prayer life with a lack of seriousness. Programs and events prevail over praying meetings in the gathering of believers. As an acclaimed believer, how is your prayer life? Are you one of those who are always rushing in and out of prayer time? The word of God is not for decoration; the word of God is for creation. Every step away from full obedience to the word of God is a step closer to full destruction. The word of God cannot and should not be taken as a joke or a “tall tale”. When Sodom and Gomorrah was to be destroyed, the word of deliverance sounded to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place!For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-13) The angel required of Lot to go and speak to his sons-in-law but they took Lot for joke.
It is written, “So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters and said, Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.” (Genesis 19:14)  Does the word of God seem to be a joke to you? If you are one that does not obey the word of God, you have taken His word for a joke. You either obey the word and take it with seriousness or disobey it and take it for a joke. There was no further indication that the sons-in-law followed Lot. They most likely were destroyed. You can avoid destruction by taking to the word of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that makes man to always regard and not disregard His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Know it that in life what we sow is what we reap.

2Kings 4:8-37

It is written, “Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food.” (2Kings 4:8) The notable woman’s reaching out to bless Elisha was not once, it was continuous and no indication of stress for the woman by making herself a blessing to Elisha. Know it that in life what we sow is what we reap. Elisha wanting to bless the notable woman, inquired from his servant Gehazi about what could be done to repay the Shunammite woman. “So he said, what then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”  So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son. “And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.” (2 Kings 4:14-17) To the Shunammite woman, Elisha sounded too good to be true but often time when we are reaching out with a good heart, the blessings always sound or always show up too good to be true. Having discovered her need, Elisha prayed for her and she had a son.
After some time, the child that was prayed for (a child of blessing) died a sudden and untimely death. The Shunammite woman knew that the child was dead but she was renewed in her faith and would not accept death for her son. She was acting consciously or unconsciously on the word that states, the blessings of the Lord makes one rich; and He adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22) A trip was planned to go and meet Elisha. She requested permission from her husband, who knew nothing about the boy’s death. The husband asked about her trip and she responded, “So he said, ‘Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.’ And she said, ‘It is well.’” (2 Kings4:23) As she approached Elisha, her response did not change but she repeated, “It is well” and not “it will be well”. In the face of death she could see nothing but life and wellness. Faith demands that you confess positively. In your challenges, stay faithful. Let the world view your dire situation in negativity while you stay positive. Do you believe? In your action make a statement of faith and God will be pleased to honor Himself in your situation.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to always know when and where to sow good into people’s life that you may reap good to the glory of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: He wants to lead you in the way of escape, in the direction of life.

Luke 4:1-13, John 10:22-39

The word of God sounded in Jeremiah’s direction stating, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) The same word speaks to all. There is none formed in the womb outside of His knowledge. He is a good God that meant good for all His creation. His statement to the Israelites in Babylon captivity testifies of His nature, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God wants us in His way by following Him through to the center of His divine agenda for our life. However, God not being a slave master gives the enemy a chance to also go after us attempting to deny God established in our life. Pay close attention these evil days and not be led wrongly by enemies you identify with and ones that are not identifiable to you. Only One and the true One to follow is the way of the Truth Himself. Attend to the word of Jesus which states, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus said, “Follow me.” He wants to lead you in the way of escape, in the direction of life. Ask God today that you may follow where Jesus is leading you. Many attempts were made to deny Jesus from fulfilling His divine purpose on earth, but He always took the way of escape. Once in the synagogue, they were angry at His words and wanted to harm Him. Luke 4:28, “ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard all these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.” Jesus did not just go away, but He went His way. His way is a way of escape and the way of deliverance. John 10:39, “Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.” Do you know how many hands are set against you? Just as there are many attempts to deny Jesus by the enemy, same attempt are also set to deny us our fulfillment in God. It is time to stop wasting time with enemy’s hands and start spending time in waiting on Him. Time spent waiting on Him is never wasted time. Take the way of escape and you will never regret it, because He is a faithful God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to lead and teach you the way of living life for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Your work is your walk and there is no hidden step from the eyes of God.

Acts 9: 31-43

Living life is a journey. Living life every day is same as being on journey. The journey of life continues as long as God’s grace to see a new day is available for every of His creation. God is a faithful God and He remains consistent honoring His word despite our inconsistency in obedience to His command. On the journey of life, what we give in life is what we get back; what we sow is what we reap. As close as orange and tangerine looks alike, it is impossible to sow orange and reap tangerine. In life, where there is expectation, there will be manifestation; where there is action, repercussion will crop up, and what you have prepared is what you will reap from. It is impossible for you to reap where you do not sow.
Which kind of step are you taking on your journey of life? On your journey, it is how you direct your feet in every walk that will determine where you will end up. The Bible was talking about how the walking of the church was the direct result of prosperity that was experience in the church when it stated in Acts 9:31, “Then the churches throughout all Judea, 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.” The multiplication experienced in the church was regarded as prosperity. It was a direct effect of walking in fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Evidently, walking in the fear of the Lord cannot be separated from experiencing the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, the book of Ecclesiastes 12:13 states better when it declares, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandment, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Your work is your walk and there is no hidden step from the eyes of God. How are you walking? It is not only about how your congregation as a church is walking. The walking is about how you are walking between Sunday evening (after the service) and the following Sunday morning, when you begin to dress up for another day of worship. Remember, you are the temple of God; the church. If you walk the walk for the Lord, then you are worthy of God’s blessing. Watch and you will see that He is faithful to bless with peace and multiplication when there is obedient to His commandments. There will always be effects in how you walk, so expect it. You may or may not like the results.

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God take charge; reign and rule in every area of your life.