FAITH CAPSULE: Whatever a man believes he behaves and what he behave is the evidence of what is inside of him.

1 John 2

The difference between a believing believer and unbelieving believer cannot be cloudy enough to disguise who is real with in their relationship with God. A believing believer is the one that confess the word and behave the word. Unbelieving believer confess the word but behave the world. Inside of a believing believer the word of God abides while inside of unbelieving believer the world abides. Whatever a man believes he behaves and what he behaves is the evidence of what is inside of him. Everyone can claim to be a believer but when the word does not abide in the claimer, behaving the word becomes impossible. Jesus said, “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.” (John 5:38) An acclaimed believer that does not behave the word is an unbelieving believer. Many do have religion but they are not real with God by virtue of their behavior. How do you act when you are around a fellow believer? What about when you are around non-believers? Can you identify the differences in your action? Have you heard people say to you that you are the Bible that they are reading? Christianity is not acting; it is a way of life. Whatever your conduct is behind the closed doors, it should not be an embarrassing issue when it is conducted in the open. Years after years, months after months, days after days, you have only been playing religion. Your playing or acting religion will only last for a while before the truth prevails. Do not be overtaken by sin because God will not over look sin. It is about time for self examination and sincerity before God. When your behavior is outside of His word your conduct will reveal you. Paul said in Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent , I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Your conduct is the testimony of how you stand in the Lord. If your conduct is worthy of Christ, you will be steadfast in Him. Your conduct is your evangelism to the unbelievers around you that are yet to receive Him as their Lord and Savior. “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24)

Prayer for today: Seek and ask God to work in you both to do His will and to do for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Trusting God will result to promotion in the presence of our enemy.

Daniel 3

There is a song that goes, “Everywhere He went He was doing good.” He was, and is the Almighty deliverer. If you will let Him go through you today, you will not be left the same way. Will you let Him go through you? His going through will never leave you empty, but it will endue you with what it takes to be connected to heaven. Allowing Jesus to go through us is rooted in trusting Him. Trust in God will frustrate every move of the enemy in our life. Trusting God will result to promotion in the presence of our enemy. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to serve or worship king Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image, they were sentenced to harsh penalty which was death by furnace fire. They were determined to stand their ground for God because they trust in God’s deliverance and preservation. King Nebuchadnezzar went further to question them about who would deliver them. They were so sure of their trust in God when they responded, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.’” (Daniel 3:16) Is there any matter that is demanding you to compromise your faith? Is the matter threatening to you? You can be rest assured that you have no need to answer the matter’s question, just like those men of faith. Trust in God and serve Him. They trusted God and responded, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17) The three friends of Daniel were bounded and delivered into the burning fiery furnace. While in the furnace, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:24-25) The One that goes everywhere, the One that you need to trust will join you in time of burning fiery furnace. He joined the three friends to keep their company in the burning furnace. Having been delivered from the furnace of fire, king Nebuchadnezzar spoke in Daniel 3:28, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”

Prayer for today: Ask God to endue you with the grace that causes man to stand in trust regardless of confronting matter.

FAITH CAPSULE:Doing right without a loyal heart will be impossible to please God.

2 Chronicles 25

The Bible described Amaziah king of Judah, “And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.” (2 Chronicles 25:2) Doing what is right in the sight of God without a loyal heart will be impossible to please God. The Bible makes us to realize that without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrew 11:6) In the case of Amaziah, he did what was right when he executed those who killed his father and not execute their children. Amaziah’s was obeying the Law of Moses as documented in Deuteronomy 24:16, “The father shall be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.” It was the same Amaziah that experienced the hand of God, defeating the Edomites. Amaziah’s loyalty to God became altered when he gave into the God of the people he defeated. The Bible recorded, “Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand?” (2 Chronicles 25:14-15) It is clearly mentioned in the above scriptural verses that after he brought the gods, he set and sought the gods of his enemy. Indeed, whatever you set you will seek and that was the case of Amaziah. It qualified him as doing right but not with a loyal heart. As a believer that has given life to Christ Jesus, which position have you taken? The apostle Paul pointed out in Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” As a believer, what you seek and set your mind on is what will make you up in the journey of life. In all your seeking, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33) The word of God is true and never fails. When you seek the kingdom of heaven first, not second nor jointly with any other agenda, the result will be true to God’s word. Deuteronomy 4:29, “…seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to do what is right with a loyal heart all the days that He has given you.

FAITH CAPSULE: It is true that building process is a process of breaking and molding.

Ezra 4

When God is set to build you up for His glory, be prepared for challenges that will come your way during the building process. It is true that building process is a process of breaking and molding before a desired expectation becomes established. God is an Outstanding builder and every outstanding building will face outstanding challenges. It does not matter how, where and when the building is going to start, all that God is going to be getting out of His building project is glory to His name. When God is set to build you for a great assignment or for His glory, the pattern of challenges can be traced. First, there will be discouragement, different kinds of unexpected trouble will show up and lastly frustration will reign so that you can resign. God made a way for His house to be built in Jerusalem when He stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2) In this kind of building project that was called for by God, there should have been expectation for a hitch free construction, but it was not so. Opposition an agent of all kinds of trouble showed up. Ezra and the Jews who volunteered to go and build the house of the Lord did not escape the opposition that was against the project that was for God. “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:4-5) The pattern of oppositions in bringing challenges to every building construction is consistent in: discouragement, trouble, and frustration. You can, however, continue to count on God for whatever situation you are going through. He is building or rebuilding you and you should pay attention for correction. Pay attention for the purpose of what you will be attending to and taking care of after you have been built. You will become a beautiful building; a building that will always bring glory to His name. God alone is the Building Builder that builds to perfection for His name to be glorified. He will see you through in all your oppositional challenges. Is God building you up in any way or you are being used by Him as an agent for His building construction? When challenges come, they will not be announced to you but will rather just impose themselves in your life. He will see you through in all your oppositional challenges in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to remain focus for His purpose.

FAITH CAPSULE: The more you elevate your approach the more it gets to Him.

1 Samuel 1, Mark 10:46-52

Jesus and His disciples with a large crowd were on their way out of Jericho when Bartimaeus the blind man encountered his healing. The Bible recorded, “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:47-48) Bartimaeus’ blindness restricted his movement and he could not flow with the crowd. Bartimaeus limitation prompted him not to be quiet but to call out by shouting on top of his voice. Until he became loud, he could not become a showcase for His glory.Could it be that it is time for you to approach Jesus differently in order to receive your healing miracle? The Psalmist encouraged us in the way he was receiving from Him by saying, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help.” (Psalm 121:1) The crowd’s attempt to keep Bartimaeus quiet kept him louder. As a result of his persistence to be heard, “Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you."Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.” (Mark 10:49-50)How have you adapted to calling on Him in every of His passing moment? Just like the blind seeking miracle, Hannah was also seeking her miracle while going to Shiloh every year. In her going, she must have been quiet to herself in her prayers while enjoying fellowshipping with her husband. One year, however, she did differently when she was provoked of her barrenness by Peninnah, her husband’s wife. “And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. (1 Samuel1:7) Instead of the regular fellowshipping that Hannah had always been having in her trip to Shiloh, she did it differently by weeping and not eating. Heaven was provoked on behalf of Hannah and her doing it differently brought forth her miracle. The blind shouted, the Psalmist lifted his eyes and they both gained heaven’s attention. Shouting out loud could not have been possible until they lifted their eyes and saw Jesus passing. How can you gain His attention differently from the way you have been getting it in order to provoke Heaven for your miracle? Lift eyes, lift voice, cry unto Him, abstain from eating, combine all or add more. The more you elevate your approach the more it gets to Him.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace not to be quiet where you need to be loud and heard.