FAITH CAPSULE: Keeping the testimonies of God is evidently a blessing that cannot be denied.

Psalm 119:1-59

Testimony means the evidence in support of fact; a public declaration regarding an experience. It will be right to call testimony a branch of faith because it is also the evidence of things hoped for. Testimonies of God that one keep will determine one’s standing in Him. Psalmist recorded, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.” (Psalm 119:2) Those that keep His testimonies will seek Him. Psalm 119:31 states, I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame.” Are you one that constantly hold on to what He has done by looking to what He will do? Clinging to His testimonies will no doubt keep one from being ashamed. Which way are you taking in the journey of life? Consider the ways of His testimonies and your feet will step in the right direction just like the Psalmist testifies, “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to your testimonies.” (Psalm 119:59) Above all, considering the testimonies of God will deliver one from the hand of the wicked just as it is written, “The wicked wait for me to destroy me, but I consider Your testimonies.(Psalm 119:95) Indeed and in truth, it is only a fool will declare that there is no God (Psalm 14:1) All the work of God’s hand is everywhere to testify that the Lord is God and His word is true. He was the same yesterday and forever. It is written, “…for Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” (Psalm 75:1) The work of His hand is enough to stop one from being a foolish one in thought and in action. Among His testimonies is declared, “But go and learn what this means; I desire mercy not sacrifice for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13)  If you are one that keeps His testimonies in your heart, seeking Him will always be your top priority. You seek Him by reaching out to sinners which all of us was once. His testimonies, which you keep, will compel you to reach out to sinners who have no hope outside of Him. Jonah’s loss from the presence of God because of his disobedience relegated him to the sinner’s camp. Jonah spent three days seeking salvation from the dark until he realized what it meant to be a sinner. Jonah’s experience outside of God energized him to go and seek after God by reaching out to lost souls for the Lord. Keeping the testimonies of God is evidently a blessing that cannot be denied. God is faithful to His word.

Prayer for today: Ask God to give you understanding, that you may know His testimonies. Ask God to endue you with the grace to be one that keeps His testimonies and seeks after Him. Be blessed by keeping His testimonies.

FAITH CAPSULE: Giving Him heartfelt thanks should not be narrowed to only a certain day or time of the year.

Psalm 106, Luke 17:11-19

Thanksgiving is not in giving out turkey. The Bible says “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6) Praising God is not complete without thanking Him neither is thanking Him completes without praising Him. The word of God confirms it, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) Giving thanks to God and praising God are not separate-able. If we are to go by the word of Psalmist as mentioned above, every breath should be backed with a word of thanks giving. Also, giving thanks to God is not what we think it is what we give by extending our heart in appreciation that is backed with action. Thinking thanks is an evidence of not having pay attention to see what God has been doing. Jesus healed ten lepers and nine of them must have been thinking thanks. However, the only one that demonstrated to have saw the need to not to think thanks reacted, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.” (Luke 17:15-16) Have you been seeing what He is doing for you? Have you been walking away just thinking thanks in your heart? Today, if you will pattern your thanksgiving approach like that of one leper that returned, wellness will become your mark. A failure not to thank God demonstrate lack of understanding it is evidential to not remembering His awesomeness. The Psalmist recorded, “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.” (Psalm 106:7) It is a sin and an act of wickedness not to thank God for all He is doing in our life. God constantly expects our thanks giving and Jesus demonstrated that when He said to the one leper that went back to give thanks, “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God…” (Luke 17:18) Giving Him heartfelt thanks should not be narrowed to only a certain day or time of the year. Thanking God for who He is and what He is doing should be an everyday, every moment activity. The children of Israel did not remember the multitude of His mercies, but rebelled. To lack remembrance is an act of rebellion. Glorify His gracious and might name by giving Him shouts of thanks giving.

Prayer for today: Ask Him today to give you the grace to be consistent and constant in remembering the multitude of His mercies.   

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus is the only one who is able to pull man through, not man.

John 5:1-17

Paralysis can be defined as, a state of helpless stoppage, inactivity, or inability to act. At every time one accepts paralysis as a condition, one will not be able to identify deliverance when it shows up. Also it is a condition that will cause man to look for help where there is no help. The Bible talked about a certain paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda with the paralysis of thirty eight years. The certain man was at Bethesda meaning, ‘House of mercy’ but yet there was no mercy in place for him to come out of his paralysis. The Bible described what transpires at the pool of Bethesda, “In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.” (John 5:3-4)The Lord knows how often you have been to your house of mercy, but mercy was not in place to address your situation. You have been in the same situation for years yet you have not received your merciful healing or deliverance. Some have come after you and received their merciful healing or deliverance. As one that believes in the goodness and mercy of God, does it concern you that you go to the same place where others have come and have received breakthrough? Are you like the paralytic man who was at the Gate near a pool which is called Bethesda meaning house of mercy? It is written, “Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:5-7)That same place where the paralytic man lay was the same place where many had been healed. That same place where you have been visiting is the same place where people with similar issues as yours have been getting their breakthrough. The difference between those that have been receiving healing and the paralytic man was that the paralytic man was looking unto man where God’s healing provision was available. Today, will you turn to a new approach, that of, “The Lord is my Shepherd?” He is the only one who can deliver you your healing. Jesus is the only one who is able to pull man through, not man.

Prayer for today: Have mercy on me as Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 

FAITH CAPSULE:Can you take a moment and think if your life has been fruitful or fruitless?

Mark 11:12-24

When a creation disappoints its creator, that creation automatically positions itself for destruction. This was the case of a fig tree that failed to deliver to the expectation of Jesus. It is written, “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.” (Matthew 21:18-19) Just as the fig tree was a disappointment to Jesus, have you been living a life of disappointment in any area of His expectation from you? A tree that was supposed to be fruitful was fruitless. The fig tree was not fruitless to itself alone but also to the creator. The one that gives life expects fruitfulness. As a living creation of God, to be fruitless in the business of God in life is like a living dead. Being a living dead is evident when Jesus did not curse the tree to die but it died. All that Jesus said to the tree was, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” The tree died immediately when it could not produce for the creator. Have you been producing fruit to the glory of God? The Bible states that, “Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.”(Mark 11:20) Jesus did not curse the tree to die but not being able to produce fruit marked it as dead. The leaves on the fig tree were rich and attractive, its leaves were inviting, loud, and clear, but there was no fruit to back up the rich appearance of leaves which it carries. In the eyes of man are you like the leaves of the fig tree? God does not go by what is seen on the outside but only go by what is in the inside just as the word testifies, “…For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” (1Samuel 2:3) Can you take a moment and think if your life has been fruitful or fruitless for God’s business? The leaves of the fig tree were inviting to the point that Jesus could see it from far but there was nothing the fig tree could offer Jesus. When Jesus showed up, it was a time of accountability, but the fig tree does not have any fruit to account for. As a result, its life has to be taken back by the Creator. God meant business when He asked you to be fruitful and multiply. He expects to see the fruitfulness when He comes back.

Prayer for today: Ask God for enablement to be fruitful for the purpose of your calling.

FAITH CAPULE: Focus is the secret of failure impossibility

Luke 5:17-26

Whenever the Word is present to heal and to deliver, the world’s agent will present itself to kill and to deny healing. However, the enemy cannot be more powerful to stop one that maintains focus to receive healing from the Words presence. It is written, “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” (Luke 5:17) At every appearance of Jesus (the Word) healing is also present. The presence of the Word brought a paralyzed man to seek for healing. On that certain day as mentioned in the scriptural verse above, crowd was the agent of healing denial on ground. It is written concerning the paralyzed man that needed healing, “And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” (Luke 5:19) The carriers refused to acknowledge the hindrance. They did not give attention to what they were seeing on the ground because they came with expectation for a manifestation. They were confident of what they wanted when they let the paralytic down through the tiling of the ceiling. There was no doubt at any level of their need for his healing. The carriers maintained their focus on the objective (expectation). Focus was the factor for their faith. Focus is the secret of failure impossibility; focus is the central point of attention. Focus is what will produce a clear necessary image unto distance from any point. In using a camera to take picture, when there is no focus there will be no good picture. In expectation for a miracle, when there is no focus there will be no manifestation. The paralyzed man and his carrier had faith and focus was a fuel that drives their faith to manifestation. The Bible recorded, “When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luke 5: 20) The faith that tore the roof will prevail in provoking the hand of God to move and the crowd to fail. The faith that tore the roof provoked Jesus to give a command stating, “…I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (Luke 5:24) Those who brought the paralytic denied the crowd by faith and the paralytic walked away from stagnation. 

Prayer for today:God will give you the grace to deny every hand of the crowd in all that concerns you and your stagnation will be converted into motion in the name of Jesus.