FAITH CAPSULE: The way of God is the way of life.

Genesis 2:15-25, 3:1-10

Disobedience is taking to a way that seems right to a believer instead of taking to the word of God. The Bible makes it clear, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) The way of God is the way of life. The way of God is in the command of God. Also, obeying the command of God is allowing the leadership of God to have its way in the life of a believer. The word He has given us demands a careful observation and not a mouthful presentation. It is careful observation of the word that will enable us to do according to His word. Every step that is taken away from doing the word of God is an outright disobedience. What the devil wants to do is confused the understanding of the promised blessing of God before complicating the life of the disobedient one. Disobedience will cause man to be naked that is it will take away God’s covering. When covering is lost, one will be found living in fear. When God made Adam, He gave him a command regarding what he should eat and what he should not eat, Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” When Eve came into his life, the serpent came into play. The serpent came cunningly and persuaded Eve to eat the fruit that was commanded by God not to eat. Eve then convinced Adam to eat from the tree as well, Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed the leaves together and made themselves coverings.”Disobedience stripped them of God’s covering and they began to make coverings for themselves. When a child of God enters into blatant disobedience, it will lead to exposure to the enemy. As a child of God, you cannot afford to go against God’s command as Adam and Eve did, because it will lead to nakedness. When nakedness has taken its place, fear will have its reign. God called Adam in “Then the LORD God called back on Adam and said to him, Where are you? So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”(Genesis 3:9-10) Is there an area of your life in which you have engaged in consistent acts of disobedience? You are warned; let it go before it becomes an issue of nakedness and fear. Fear is not of God, it is of the devil.

Prayer for today: Ask today for His grace to keep you from every ways of being disobedient to His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: In God’s direction, there is provision for preservation.

1 Kings 17:1-6, 19:1-9

Trusting to wait on God has to be consistent. In the face of impending danger, it can be painful to wait on God. The word of God encourages, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) In this blessing of waiting, it is clear that a wingless man that trust God enough to wait on God will mount up with wings to fly even when the ground does not permit running or walking. When Elijah ignited trouble in the land by calling for rain to cease, God gave Elijah direction, ““Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” (1 Kings 17:3-4) In God’s direction, there was provision for preservation and Elijah could not suffer from the lack of rain. The same Elijah that was told by God to hide when there was a need for him to hide ran when fear located him. Elijah ran when God did not ask him to run. After the manifestation of God’s power through him on Mount Carmel, he executed the prophets of Baal. The execution of the prophets does not settle well with Jezebel the wife of King Ahab. Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah. The Bible recoded, ““And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’” (1 Kings 19:3-4) Can you imagine such a mighty man of God running without God? The first time that he needed to move God gave him direction. When there was more need for him to wait and get direction he did not wait. Not waiting on God will cause any servant of God to run where the journey only calls for walking. Elijah was running under the direction of fear. To be moved by fear and not by faith will cause one to be exhausted; frustrated and lack. Remember what the Lord has done for you in the past. God has brought you this far and He will not forsake you. 1 Kings 19:9, “And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” 

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of waiting on Him consistently and not selectively.

FAITH CAPSULE: When there is no failure in hearing, faith will pass you on to fearing God.

Deuteronomy 23:20-33

God spoke to the children of Israel in Exodus 23:27-28, “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.” With the fear of God ahead on every journey of life, confidence will be in place to keep our feet from being caught. (Proverb 3:26) “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”(Deuteronomy 10:12) When the fear of God goes before you, you will know to walk in all His ways. Walking in the way of God is to love the Lord God. To love the Lord God is to serve Him. It is evident through the pages of scripture that, you cannot love God if you do not fear Him. Also, if you do not love God, it is not possible to serve Him. To fear God is to love God; to love God is to serve God. By this it is apparent that a believer will be in a position to please God. Jesus said in John 8:29, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” What is holding you down from having the Father always with you? Is it the inability to fear Him? The more you grow in faith the more you know to fear Him and have His fear go before you in every step of life. We are made to understand in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” If without faith it is impossible to please Him, with faith it is absolutely possible to please Him. Faith is not what anyone is born with but faith is what you have to seek for and you know that it will come. Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” What the Word is saying is about hearing, hearing, hearing and hearing. It is not for a time or two, but it is of consistence and continuity. When there is no failure in hearing, faith will pass you on to fearing God and having His fear go before you.

Prayer for today: Lord put your fear in me so that I will not depart from You.

FAITH CAPSULE: The way out of your challenges is to see God in your challenges and He will see you out of your challenges.  

Psalm 3, Mark 5:25-34

King David stated, “LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” (Psalm 3:1-2) Like King David, the challenges that persist in your life are evidence of increased trouble. The closest one that has keep distance at the time of your challenges is also an evidence of increased trouble and your challenges are asking where your God is. Your challenges that persist and closest ones that disappear did not see any help in sight for you. David took it to God when he stated, “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”(Psalm 3:3) The only way out of your challenges is to see God in your challenges and He will see you out of your challenges. It does not matter how long your challenges persist but it matters that you stay on Him. The woman with the issue of blood was not identified by her real name but by her challenging situation because they saw no help for her in God. For twelve years there was no sign of help for her but going about with the issue of blood. Despite the persistency of her disease, she could not be held back from receiving her healing. She acted not by accident, but by act of faith. Physicians, rather than help her, put her through suffering, spent all she had, and made her sickness worse. God is the healing physician. In your helplessness, what have you been hearing? Which name are they calling you? What is being communicated to you in your challenges? The woman with the issue of blood heard rightly and acted rightly for her to be healed. Mark 5:27, “When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.” All she needed was to hear about Jesus. She did not question the power of God, nor did she wait to seek Jesus. She broke through the crowd and touched His garment from behind. Mark 5:28-29, “For she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well. Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.’” Be careful what you hear or who you listen to. There is hope for you if you will begin to listen to Jesus. Today, you can break through the crowd and move in to touch Him. He will heal your sickness. David in his own case, cried to the LORD with his voice, and God heard him from His holy hill.

Prayer for today: Ask God for His divine intervention in every area of your challenge.

FAITH CAPSULE: Obey the word of God, sound His word out and the world will dance to your tune.

John 8:28-43

There is no blessing that can be compared to having the Almighty Creator watching over His creation every moment of the day. As a believer of the word of God, it is good to know about the truth that God will never leave His children nor forsake them. However, it is not good enough when the understanding of what it takes to be in the promise of His blessing of watching over is not in place in a believer’s life. The issue here is that the blessings of God come with condition. Quoting the blessings of God without living by the conditions of His blessings delivers empty result. Many times you must have heard a believer quoting the Word of God that states “He will never leave me nor forsake me.” You probably have used the same quotation a number of times. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith once made a statement, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” (John 8:29) After you have quoted it, have you ever found yourself in a situation of being left alone? Jesus meant what He said because indeed He was never left alone all throughout His ministry on the face of this earth. This is evident in all that He did. Whenever Jesus spoke, His words were backed with power because the Father was always with Him. Is your story the same after your confession that He will never leave you nor forsake you? You have missed it if your words are always empty. You have not been paying the price that will cause Him not to leave you nor forsake you. Jesus always pays the price and that is an example for us to follow if we desire for the Father not to leave us. The price for Him not to leave us nor forsake us is to always do what pleases Him. All that it takes in pleasing God is not a secret. It is written, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrew 11:6) Today, consider the need to live the word of God so that you will begin to avoid empty quotations that are not backed with power. The word of God was, is, and will always be true if you will pay the price that is behind every word. Obey the word of God, sound His word out and the world will dance to your tune.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to keep His Word.