FAITH CAPSULE: Rejoicing and praising God is an inseparable avenue of gaining God’s presence.

Philippians 4

Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice always. Again I will say, rejoice!” The apostle Paul did not just ask for joy but he asked for it with emphasis because he was urging the need for peace with the Lord. The peace of God is the presence of God and to be able to carry His presence, joy or rejoicing is a must. Without joy, there cannot be peace and without peace no joy will be in place. The prophet Isaiah in his own revelation of letting us know the effect of joy said, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3) Isaiah was expressing thanks in the Kingdom of God. Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The Psalmist was requesting for direction in the path of life because in the path of life where there is God’s presence, the sojourner will get to their expected end. Also where God’s presence is absent, death will be present. To journey in the path of life successfully, God’s presence will have to be consistently in place. In the words of the Psalmist it is clear that joy is what will grant the presence of God that is enough for passing through the path of life. After Hannah’s breakthrough miracle, she testified in 1 Samuel 2:1, “…my heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.”Hannah distinctively spelled out the kind of joy that grants God’s presence by saying, “My heart rejoices in the Lord.” The only way that the presence of God cannot be accessible is when joy is not in the heart. This also occurs when being happy is misrepresented for joy. When joy flows from the heart, it will no doubt locate God because you cannot praise God and not be joyful. Likewise, you cannot be joyful and not praise Him. Rejoicing and praising God is an inseparable avenue of gaining God’s presence. The word of God confirms in Psalm 22:3, “But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Think of it, praising Him with understanding is praising Him with joy. Just like Hannah, when you praise Him joyfully, your horn (strength) will be exalted in the Lord. You will smile at every representative of enemies such as failure, sickness, and every other kind of challenges that Paul advised us not to be anxious about. Be anxious for nothing. Praise God with joy and His presence will carry you through in Jesus name.        
 
Prayer for today: Ask Him to deposit in you all that it takes to be constantly joyful.

FAITH CAPSULE: A clear direction with a heart of obedience will result in a great manifestation.

Numbers 13

Every believer who confesses the Lord God is in debt of constant and consistently calling and requesting for the mercy of God on a regular basis. The Bible declares in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” How can we not take His word seriously? When we fail to study His word on a regular basis, then we will become more prone not to take His word seriously. Since the pollution of man in the Garden of Eden by the deceiver, man has continued not to take Him for His word the way He desires for us. The children of Israel did not take Him for His word as a result, they failed to move and possess all He had ordained for them. Numbers 13:1-3, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.’” Moses played his role by relaying the message as delivered unto him to the children of Israel. God did not lay any condition for giving the land unto them because it was His promise to give the land. All that the children of Israel needed to do was to go and spy out the land that God was giving them. A clear direction with a heart of obedience will result in a great manifestation. Likewise, a simple direction with a heart of disobedience will bring forth destruction. Have you received any direction from God? All His directions are simple because He that gives direction is the One who will also see you through by His grace. The spies went and checked out the land and came back with a negative report. Giving a negative report of His promise was a result of lack of faith. The summary of the report was, “…”The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are great men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we are like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we are in their sight.’” (Numbers 13:32-33) All the people who received and believed the report that contradicted with the promise of God died. In gaining entrance into His promises, take Him at His word and not man’s word. What God has promised, has already been done; just wait for the appointed time.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to receive and live by His promise for your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: He came for each and everyone of us, but not all will accept Him.

Isaiah 54

When we quote the word of God from our mouth and not from our heart it becomes meaningless. Everything we do in the Lord with a lack of understanding will result to a lack of transformation. Psalm 47:7 stated, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.” If praise worship requires understanding, every other area of worshipping God surely requires understanding. Applying the word of God also requires understanding for the word to produce results. When we quote the word of God from our mouth without having an understanding of its meaning it will produce no results. Often time, believers quote from Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn…” It is a blessing of God when formed weapons become a failure and not prosper against us. However, the blessing of God does not happen by accident, it comes with condition. The required command to claim the word of God that states No weapon formed against us shall not prosper is stated before Isaiah 54:17. It is easy to look over the required command and not obey the command before claiming the blessing.  The condition to claim the blessings of God always require work and understanding. Isaiah 54:14commanded, “In righteousness you shall be established…” After this required command, the blessings that will make a believer of the word of God prevail were mentioned. Besides the blessings of formed and failed weapon, whoever assembles against us shall also fall for our sake. The blessing that is packaged in being established in righteousness goes beyond imagination. When a believer is established in righteousness, nothing formed against such believer shall prosper and all that stands against the believer shall fall. Jesus Christ is our righteousness (2Corinthians 5:21). He came for each and everyone, but not all will accept Him. Every man that claims to have accepted Jesus and not be established in Him are running a risk for their life like the itinerant Jewish exorcists who took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. The Bible recorded, “…the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”” (Acts 19:15-17) To be established in righteousness is to be steadfast in every moment of our walk in the Lord. It will take loving God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength to be established in His righteousness.

Prayer for today: Deliver me and defend me against the forces that cause man not to be established in Your righteousness.

FAITH CAPSULE: Daniel was steadfast and the grace of God that was upon his life had no bounds or limitation.

Daniel 1, 6

Grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. In Jesus we have the grace of God. It is written, “…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory now and forever…” (2Peter 3:18) One can understand that through studying the word of God there will be growth in the knowledge of God. However, there is no amount of studying that will help directly in the growth of grace. Also, growth in grace cannot be separated from growth in knowledge because they both go hand in hand. How then can we grow in grace and knowledge of God? The Bible did not speak in tongue or any language to make it difficult for every believer or non-believer that read through about what it takes to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. It is written, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2 Peter 3:17-18) Clearly, without further need or any interpretation, it is clear that to be Steadfast in the Lord is what makes a believer to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and savior. What then is steadfastness? Steadfastness is to be fixed in direction; firm in purpose, unwavering, firmly established or firmly fixed in faith. When you have a purpose in life then you will be fixed in taking a deliberate walk in the direction of your purpose. Daniel a young captive in the hand of king Nebuchadnezzar had a purpose to live for God. When he was offered the best food and wine which the king had, he declined and requested to eat vegetables and drink water instead, so that it would not defy his purpose. It was recorded of him, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel’s steadfastness could not be compromised with the king’s offer. Also, Daniel could not compromise when his life was on line for death sentence. At the time when he was about to be sentenced for praying, he would not deny His God when he went and prayed with his windows opened toward Jerusalem three times a day in the face of his persecutors. (Daniel 6:10-11) Daniel was steadfast and the grace of God that was upon his life had no bounds or limitation. Be steadfast in your walk with God and He will set you up for great exploit.

Prayer for today: Impact me O Lord with the grace to be steadfast.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do you still trust God even though your breakthrough is not in sight?

1 Samuel 1

A severe provocation will lead to a miserable condition. A miserable condition provokes for a loss of appetite for food and a grieved heart. This statement described Hannah during her days of mockery due to her barrenness. The Bible made mention that Elkanah had two wives; one named Hannah, and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Elkanah and his family went to worship and offer sacrifices to God every year in Shiloh. Despite Hannah’s barrenness there was no documentation that testified she did not go to Shiloh every year. Hannah knew full well that the God she worshipped was the One who blesses the fruit of the womb. Hannah was not discouraged and so she kept going year after year. Do you trust God even though your breakthrough is not in sight? Elkanah encouraged Hannah just as it was recorded, “whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb.” (1 Samuel 1:4-6)As if the situation was not bad enough for Hannah, Peninnah added more to her plight. Peninnah her rival, “…provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.” (1 Samuel: 1-6) Hannah’s challenging experience was not enough to dissuade her from going year after year to worship God. When it was time for Hannah to have her closed door open, she made some result oriented moves and God blessed her with an open womb. Among her moves was: A total trust in God. Hannah was not eating and yet she was praying to God. The Bible stated that, “She was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.” (1 Samuel 1:10)Hannah’s trouble did not stop her from praying and putting her total trust in God. Secondly, “she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11). Hannah prayed and made a vow; Eli the priest who had earlier thought Hannah was drunk, blessed Hannah. In response to Eli, Hannah “…went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (1 Samuel 1:18)Put your total trust in God, pray and make your vow and celebrate before your miracle comes to manifestation.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask for the grace to always hold onto You in complete trust.