FAITH CAPSULE: Submit all to God, He will subdue all on your behalf.

1 Samuel 4:1-12  
 
It is possible to have God in your camp and you being camped out unto defeat.
1Samuel 4: 1-2, the Bible mentioned how the children of Israel suffered defeat in the hands of the Philistines. In that battle, about four thousand men of the army were recorded dead. The Bible recorded the response of the Israelites elders,“Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” (1 Samuel 4:3) Indeed, the arrival of the ark in their camp was same as having God in their camp. With the arrival of the ark of the covenant of the Lord into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. (1 Samuel 4:5)The reaction of the arrival of the ark in the Israelites cam does not settle well with the Philistines because they were afraid. In their fear they acknowledge in their word by stating “God has come to the camp”. Nevertheless, the battle went on while Israel was defeated and great slaughter was recorded for Israel and the ark of God was captured. One will wonder how that could be when they were having God in their camp. With God in your camp, have you been facing defeat? If yes, there is a need that you check your distance from God. It could be that you are consciously or unconsciously far from Him by virtue of carelessness. He has sent His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In that particular battle that you are on the verge of losing, God is in your camp but you are out of camp away from Him.
The children of Israel had God in their camp but they have turned away from God. In the face of challenge they need a quick fix where they have not been fixing themselves right with God and His statutes.
It is written, “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreth, and served the Lord only.”(1 Samuel 7:3-4)The children of Israel returned to the Lord God. 1 Samuel 7-13 documented how the Philistines were confused, pursued, and subdued. Above all, they restored all that the Philistines took away. Our battle is not lost, victory is not too late the requirement is to return and submit all to God, He will subdue all on our behalf.
 
Prayer for today:Ask for God’s grace to return you in full submission to God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Employ the truth, deploy lying; be a winner.

2 Chronicles 18
 
As long as there is breath of life in man journey of life continues and man does not cease from journey. Every step in the journey of life engages different battle.
How you fight your battle will determine the outcome of the battle. The battle that man engages comes up every day and the weapon to engage everyday war is walking in nothing but absolute. When truth is absolutely true, victory becomes absolute and undeniable. The case of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and Ahab, king of Israel in the book of 2Chronicles 18 is a clear evidence to the need for absolute truth that is the truth that cannot be diluted. Ahab the king of Israel approached Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to join force with him in a battle against Syria. Jehoshaphat agreed to the request of Ahab the king of Israel. After having agreed, Ahab decided on how he was going to prosecute the battle by saying to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.”   Ahab disguised himself and went into battle. Jehoshaphat fought the battle without disguising himself. The battle on that day became intensified for Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat in his truthfulness called on God and he prevailed. When battle intensified on Ahab, disguising could not prevail. Disguising, deception, or lying prevails only for a period but the truth will always prevail regardless of how long it takes the truth to come to light. The bible recorded it in 2Chronicles 19:1 that Jehoshaphat returned safely to his house in Jerusalem while Ahab died and could not return.
Is there any battle that persists in your life? Does it appear that you are losing? Are you fighting the Jehoshaphat way or the Ahab way? There is a need for fighting our battle on a ground of truth that is on a regular basis without diluting the truth. Exchange your entire weapon for truth. Truth is the only way. Try it today and reap the fruit of a winner.
Withdraw from disguising or deceit; draw unto the truth. In 2Timothy 3:16-17 it is written that scripture is an inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The word of God is not mere story telling they are sent by God to profit us when we apply it. The word is all that is needed to be equipped with our day to day battle. Employ the truth, deploy lying; be a winner.
 
Prayer for today:Ask for the word of God to reign and rule in every area of your life.  

FAITH CAPSULE: It is one thing to know and memorize the word, it is another to know to memorize and meditate.

Jeremiah 1, John 1:1-18
 
Before all that was built, Jesus was there in the beginning and He is there forever. Jesus is the Master builder. The same word that brought forth creation is still the same word that is building up those who receive and believe in Him. The word of God is spirit and it gives life. John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” It is worth to remember that the same word that created everything is there to give more than we can imagine. It is one thing to know and memorize the word, it is another to know to memorize and meditate. Knowing the word and not knowing to memorize and meditate is empty; it generates no power. Meditation will cause one to observe and do what the word requires, and there’s simply no substitute for meditating the word. The word of God is power and the word can never deny itself nor fail, but man can fail to have the word work on their behalf. The work of God is in the word of God. The disciples once asked Jesus, “…What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28) Jesus responded, “…This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:29) The word of God cannot be compromised if you desire for the word to build you. Just as there is no substitute for food in order for man to grow physically, so there is no substitute for the word to grow spiritually. Jeremiah confirmed that the word is food when he testified, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart…” (Jeremiah 15: 16) As a believer, how often do you feed on the word of God? Waiting for Sunday or once in a while reading the word will amount to nothing. What is it that you are giving your ear to? What you give your ear to is what will build you up because whatever you receive will become of you. It is written, “Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken.” (Jeremiah 13:15) The Lord has spoken, as a believer, play your part and receive his word that will build you up for His kingdom glory. Job, after experiencing God’s move in His word, he testifies, “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” (Job 41:5) Take the hearing of His word to be your greatest priority and you will have reasons in this world to testify that you have seen God move by His word.  
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the ear that hears.

FAITH CAPSULE: Will you allow Him to build you up for His glory?

Ezekiel 2
 
The word of God is power and it communicates power. The communicating power in the word of God is the vehicle for transformation for those that are able to receive and believe in the word of God. The word of God cannot be compromised. Compromising the word of God is despising the word of God. To despise the word of God is to be destroyed. Jesus said, “… I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) As a temple of God, until you are built up by Him, you will not be able to contain what He purposed for your life to carry for His glory. Will you allow Him to build you up for His glory? Jesus made an emphatic statement that He will build His church and nothing shall prevail against it. Do not prevent yourself from being built but invest yourself in the word that will build you. The Apostle Paul was speaking in the book of Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” Jesus, the word of God is the One that builds one and give life abundantly. How can the word build you? The word of God will have to enter into you for you to be built. Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple” Before Jeremiah could become what the Lord wanted him to be, he was built up by the word of God that sounded in his direction. It is written concerning Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah 1:5, “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.” The same word that identified and called Jeremiah out informed him what he was before he was born. The word of God caused him to begin to see from where he could not see. The word of God prepared him and positioned him into the center of his divine assignment. It was the word that deposited in him the boldness that built him for God’s divine agenda for his life when He said to Jeremiah, “’Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 1:8). Just like Jeremiah, Ezekiel also encountered the word. “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.’ 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.” (Ezekiel 2:1-2) No man hears God indeed and doubts Him. Having doubt is the evidence for not been built by the word. Allow the word of God to build you.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be more receptive when His word sounds in your direction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Is He calling you in certain areas of life that you are yet to follow fully?

Luke 5:1-11
 
When He called Peter to follow it was after He had directed him to launch into the deep. It happened that after Peter’s fishing all night with no fish to account for. Jesus said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4) Knowing fully that it was the same place they toiled all night without catching any fish, Peter and his fellow fishermen could not bypass Jesus’ command but reluctantly launched into deep. The Bible recorded that they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. After having caught so much, Peter and his fellow fishermen had a reasonable ground to go into full scale fishing. The word stated, “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.” Peter and his team of fishermen teamed up and followed Jesusby disallowing so much catch to keep them from following Jesus. Decision to follow Jesus came after Peter and his fellow fishermen were position to make reasonable wealth from their net breaking exploit. Nevertheless, they made the outright decision material wealth and went following Jesus. To you wealth has come, your net is catching so much beyond your imagination. Just as you are thinking that you have enough not to follow Him, it is obvious that now is the time you give up that interest of yours and follow Him. It is written, “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me’. So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.” (Luke 5: 27-28) 
Following Jesus, demands leaving all and rising to follow Him fully. No baggage of Egypt will be accepted in following Him. There is no record that any one followed fully and ended in shame or regret. No one follows Him and fail. A Full-fledge tax collector did not have to wait to be called twice in following Him. He rose at the calling and followed Him with no excuse.
Is He calling you in certain areas of life that you are yet to follow fully? Your excuse for not following is so silent that you can hardly hear yourself giving excuse. Also, it could be that your excuse is so legitimate and everyone can reason with you. Everyone does not count and it should not hold you back because His power, peace surpasses all understanding.
It is time for you to rewrite your road map with a compass that reads North: JesusSouth: JesusWest: JesusEast: Jesus.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of God that denies all that causes man to delay, derail or be distracted from hearing and answering fully to His calling.