FAITH CAPSULE: Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God.

Jeremiah 48:1-20

God was speaking against Moab in the book of Jeremiah 48:7, “For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity.” (Chemosh: The chief deity of Moab.) It was a greatjudgment against Moab and it is worthy of our attention and sincere meditation so that it will enable us to observe where we are placing our trust. The judgment against Chemosh should be a strong warning for all that believes and also to unbelievers that God should be constantly and consistently acknowledged with thanks and praise for all that He enables us to do on a regular basis. Failure to acknowledge Him demonstrates that we trust and rely on our own self-effort as strength. It is clear that the people of Moab could have resolved to self-sufficiency whereby looking to their work and treasure as a measure of self-effort. A dangerous way to captivity is to assume self-effort as strength and source of blessing. God alone is our source. God wants to be glorified and exalted for every blessing that comes our way. He is a jealous God and He will not take it well with any soul who chooses not to acknowledge Him for His goodness and mercy. God spoke in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the LORD.” How clear and loud can we possibly hear this from the Lord God that He wants to be glorified by us? Have you been counting on self-effort as your source? It is time that you count your blessings; name them one by one and let God take all the entire honor and glory. Captivity is not a ground that is fun to be for any one that is enjoying and living in the blessings of freedom with God. The Moabites might not be around to tell us what is was like to end up in captivity after having been in control of treasures, but what the bible tells us is enough to learn and live to the glory of God. Do not give away all that He has blessed you with. Turn around and give Him all the glory and honor that belongs to Him; not to your efforts. Go and glorify Him in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Lift up your hands in thanks giving and praise to the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

FAITH CAPSULE: The journey life is not about how the weather will affect you, But how you weather through.

2 Timothy 4

The journey of life is like a race that requires determination and divine intervention to get to the finish line. The race of life is not about how fast you get to the end, but how you run the entire race. Ecclesiastes 9:11 puts it better, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor the riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” The race of life is not about how often you fall, but how you are able to get back on the track whenever you fall. The race of life is not about how the weather affects you on the race track, but it is about how you weather through. All of us are in the race today but not many are running the race, some might still be at the start line, some may be slowing down watching others go by or some may simply not want to put up the fight to complete the race. Whatever it maybe not all in the race will cross the finish line to claim the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” How are you running the race? Keeping track of how you are running will keep you focus from going off track in the race of life. Many are running, but they are running off the track. 1 Corinthians 9:25, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” This race that we are running requires endurance; not energy. Neither does it require strength but rather the Spirit of God. Continuity is the rule of the race while a purposeful heart is the official of the race. An advice about running the race is written in Hebrew 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The race is an everyday warfare that needs a constant engagement. As you run, are you taking time out to check if you are on track in the race of life? It is a serious matter because the Apostle Paul made us to see clearly that it is a war when he said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finish the race, I have kept the faith.” What will tell of you about how you running the race when it is the time to cross over the line for prize?

Prayer for today: Ask for grace to run the race right.

FAITH CAPSULE: We praise God with our whole heart because He alone is the King of all the earth.

Psalm 148, 149, 150

Philippians 2:12, “…Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” The working out of our salvation is also in praising God. With fear and trembling in our life, we give God a well deserved praise because He is fearful in praises. It is not possible for anyone to express approval, admiration, commendation or laudation for someone they have no faith in. When we praise God, we are offering grateful homage in words, dancing, worshipful melody, or through our daily lifestyle. God stated in His command, “…For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5). He is a jealous God; and the antidote of a jealous God is attention. Praise is an act of giving God all the attention he rightfully deserves. Praising God should be done continually. Psalm 150:6 says “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” As long as you have breath, praising God should never cease.
How do we praise God? Psalm 47:7 states, “For God is the King of the earth; sing praises with understanding.” Praising God is not about going through emotions, especially when the heart is far from God. When we praise and worship God, it has to be in understanding just as required by the Psalmist. Psalm 9:1-2 pointed out how we go about in praising God, “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” We praise God with our whole heart because He alone is the King of all the earth. Also, it is impossible to praise God without joy. When we praise him, joy must flow because in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11) What happens when we praise God the way we should praise Him? The Psalmist states, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) Where God is enthroned there He also inhabits. By this virtue, God inhabits the praises of His people. In God’s presence victory is certain. The wall of Jericho fell down flat through praise as commanded by God. (Joshua 6) Paul and Silas overcame the confrontation of their adversary by praying and praising God. (Acts 16:25-40) The word of God is true. As He was in the past so it is today and many are still testifying victory through praising and praying to God. Praising God in line of God’s required way of praise worship is seeking the presence of God. There is healing, deliverance and preservation in the presence of God. Why not give it all to Him in praise and worship?

Prayer for today: Let my heart not depart from praising You all the days of my life.

FAITH CAPSULE: When you dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High, you will do–well in Him.

Psalm 91

Psalm 91:1 stated, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” In these days when the world is becoming darker, where else could be safer for a man to dwell and abide; than in the secret place of the Most High God? Definitely, the secret place is where the Most High himself dwells. Isaiah 57:15 confirms the location of the secret place when it states, “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place…” The high and holy place is where we need to dwell and it can be entered through obedience to the Word of God. Dwelling without abiding will amount to no result. However, abiding in the dwelling place delivers result and also demands working the word of God. Psalm 15 asked and answered, “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.” (Psalm 15:1-5) No one can dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High just by confessing and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Nor can they dwell or abide in the secret place just by going to church every Sunday. In Isaiah 57:15 God reveals how we can have access to the holy place, he states, “…I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15) Those who persevere and commit their heart to seeking God becomes untouchable. The secret place is the place of assured deliverance and preservation. The word of God is true and it will not fail. When you dwell and abide in the secret place of the Most High, you will do–well in Him.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, cause me to dwell and abide in Your secret place all the days of my life.

FAITH CAPSULE:Crossing over is not without challenges but it requires pressing on.

Exodus 14, Matthew 8:23-27

Crossing over is the evidence that one is advancing and moving forward, instead of going backwards. Crossing over is not a stagnation it is gaining motion. However, in crossing over, one should always expect challenges and roadblocks that will try to hinder you from crossing over. Jesus, during one of His crossing over with the disciples, encountered surmounting challenges that were strong enough to terminate the move of crossing over. The Bible recorded, “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.” (Matthew 8:23-24) Winds and waves were the challenges that Jesus and his disciples faced when crossing over. The challenges wanted to destroy them and deny them access to the other side. The wind came to blow them off in their course, while the wave came to sink them and permanently terminate them from crossing over. Are you experiencing challenges of this magnitude in your crossing over? If Jesus could experience challenges, then expect that your challenges will come. But take confidence that God, in His goodness and mercy will see you through. The children of Israel, in their attempt to cross over from bondage to freedom; encountered a surmounting challenge. Pharaoh could not let them go permanently, and tried to seize them. With Pharaoh and his army behind them, they were bewildered by the land; the wilderness closed them in. (Exodus 14:3) Crossing over is not without challenges but it requires pressing on. Pressing on and not giving up to fear is not convenient, and often many lose when they quit too soon. The children of Israel demonstrated fear and made negative confessions to Moses such as recorded in Exodus 14:11-12, ““Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” The disciples did not confess negative when the wind and wave attempted their crossing over. The disciples called on Jesus, “Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25) In your crossing over, know that challenges will come but also know to confess a positive word and not a negative word. Press on and you will not perish in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Ask God to preserve you from trouble and surround you with songs of deliverance.