FAITH CAPSULE: The mind is undoubtedly a battleground the enemy wants to capture. 

Colossians 3 

Setting a mind for things above is to be purposely fixed against any distraction.
Those who choose to set their mind on the things of God shall experience the presence of God.
Apostle Paul, by his experience, states the place to engage, to live for the glory of God in Colossians 3:1, “If you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” 
Have you given your life to Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior? 
Apostle Paul is reaching out to all good. 
Further down in the same chapter, he gave a clear understanding to show that the only way to seek things that are above is to set minds on things that are above and not on things that are on the earth. 
To set minds on things of earth is to become vulnerable to being occupied by the evil ones.
The mind is undoubtedly a battleground that the enemy wants to capture. 
A captured mind is out of God.
With a mind set on those things above, those things on the earth will begin to give up in lives one mindset above. 
The idea of setting is to purpose for God. 
Daniel, being a young captive, set himself for the glory of God when he purposed in Daniel 1:8, “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.” 
Setting the mind for things above is also to be purposely fixed against any distraction. 
The mindset above is with constant meditation on the word of God in the morning, day, and night. 
Are you willing to set your mind on things that are above where Christ is? If yes, there will be a need to “put to death your members which are on earth such as fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). 
Among all that need to be of mind are anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy language out of mouth is also included. 
In the place of putting off the members of this earth, there will be a putting on of the things of the characters of God that represent He that is above. 
Apostle Paul identifies characteristics: tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering (Colossians 3:12). 
Above all is love and allowing forgiveness to reign and to rule in the heart and life of every believer of the word of God. 
Constantly setting a mind to seek the things above with Christ will prevent one from becoming a waste when He comes back again. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to give you the heart that will God with all the mind.

FAITH CAPSULE: Pouring out the soul before God is laboring by praying. 

Luke 1:1-25

Laboring by praying before God will open any closed door that needs an opening.
Prayer is the key. 
The word of God is to be studied and engaged, not to live wasted.
Prayer is labor and not a fun fare. 
Apostle Paul, in his letter of greetings and appreciation for his beloved workers, pointed out laboring in prayer when he wrote, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”(Colossians4:12) 
The Bible also testifies about the prayer session of Jesus, “He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) 
Prayer is not a funfair. 
A closed door will answer to laborious prayer rooted in the word of God.
It is doubt that builds up for one to become afraid on the prayer altar. 
Are you one who labors in prayer but partners with being afraid?
A certain priest named Zacharias was warned not to be afraid concerning his prayer. 
The Bible records that the certain priest and his wife were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 
They were not with children because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well-advanced in years. (Luke 1:6-7) 
The priest and his wife were experiencing a closed door as they prayed, “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” (Luke 1:11-13) 
Imagine a priest in prayer of expectation getting warned not to be afraid. The encounter of Zacharias with the angel of God testifies fear is a hindrance in the place of prayer. 
Prayer and being afraid do not go together. 
Prayer opens heaven to experience the move of God.
There is no door that prayer cannot open. 
Barrenness will succumb to laborious prayer rendered to God without being afraid.
To pour out your soul before God is laboring in prayer, and it will open every door that has been closed. 
Barrenness represents a closed door but will respond to prayer. 
In the life of Zacharias and Elizabeth, prayer opened the door to gaining the blessing of God. 
Are you experiencing barrenness in any area of life? 
Today, be encouraged, in your experience, to experiment with laborious prayer and see God move on your behalf. 

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of strength on your prayer altar.

 Faith Capsule: Comply with the word of God with consistency.  

Numbers 14:1-38

Trusting God to claim His promise demands obedience to the word of God.
Obedience to the word of God demands compliance without doubt.
Complying with the word of God with consistency will find God.
Obedience is trusting God to claim His promise by the word of God.
Thousands of the children of Israel followed Him, but only two (Caleb and Joshua) followed Him. 
The spy that went to spy on the Promised Land returned with a discouraging report for the children of Israel. 
The negative report was the evidence that the spy failed to hold on to the promise of God. 
Numbers 32:8-11 states, “Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they have not wholly followed Me.” 
One who does not believe God for His word has refused to follow Him the truth of God. 
The word of God testified that Caleb and Joshua were the only two who stood against the negative report of their fellow spy. 
All that was not able to hold onto the word of His promise could not make it to the Promised Land “except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.” (Numbers 32:12) 
All should trust God to experience the promise of God that does not return to Him void.
Are you trusting God as the way of life?
King Saul’s life story demonstrates half obedience to the command of God. 
God commanded Saul to go and attack the Amalek and utterly destroy all they had by not sparing them. 
God wanted Saul to kill all as commanded by God.
Saul took the command of God into his hand, not to obey, pleasing God.
1 Samuel 15:9, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” 
It is disobedience in its class when there is a failure to obey the word of God.
Half-obedience makes hypocrites out of those who come to the Lord and do not follow him.
The children of Israel did not follow God, and they were terminated in the wilderness not to arrive at the promise of God. 
To obey God is to follow His Word. 
Following the Word of God is obeying God.

Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled to live obediently to the command of God.

Faith Capsule: Restrain from your way, and let the Lord have His way. 

John 8

Condemning an act is arriving at judgment. 
One taking the position of a judge is against the word of God.
Are you quick to arrive at a judgment of the doing of others?
Jesus specifically warned in Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 
What qualifies your judging of others?
Nothing qualifies anyone to be a judge. 
Are you a non-sinner and quick to point out one as a sinner, taking a position as a judge?
The Bible declared it in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 
God alone is the perfect One to judge because He alone is holy and sinless. 
God alone cannot misjudge when He judges. 
One arriving at the judgment by looking into the shortcomings while yet to take the step to look closely into the self is not of God.
Jesus said, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’ and look, a plank is in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3-4)
As a believer, one should be careful not to arrive at condemning others. 
No one is perfect but God.
Forgiving others should be a knowledgeable way of approaching the world of sin and iniquity. 
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, and they wanted to know why she should be excused not to be stoned for her sin. 
Have you been greatly offended and want to know why your offender should let go without your judgment? 
Jesus speaks to all as spoken to the scribes and the Pharisees, “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) 
To let go and let God take over can be very challenging when looking for an instant judgment that fits any offense against one. 
The fact that none is perfect is enough to hold back rather than carrying out judgment. 
John 8:9 records the response to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”  
It is the way of God for all not to judge. 
Restrain from your way, and let the Lord have His way. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from conscious or unconscious ways that you have taken outside the word of God.

Faith Capsule: The fear of God will give life in the place of death. 

Genesis 22:1-14

Do you fear God by the word of your mouth?
Do you fear God by the way you are living life? 
Many claim to fear God, but the majority do not demonstrate the fear of God by the way of living life.
To fear God is all that matters. 
One who does not fear Him will fail before Him. 
Ecclesiastes 12:13 states, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandment, for this is man’s all.” 
Do you know if you fear Him? 
God treasures it when there is fear for Him.
Isaiah 33:6 buttresses, “…The fear of the Lord is His treasure.” 
God treasures when fear for Him is evident in the life of His creation.
Those who receive the word will know to fear Him. 
All should give themselves to the word of God that will enable having the fear of God.
It is written in many pages of the Bible what the fear of God adds up to in the life of a believer.  
Proverbs 9:10 states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” 
Those who operate the wisdom of God are bound for great things, and good things are ahead of them. 
Do you fear God?
When wisdom in the fear of God is evident, knowing the Holy One shall become revealed. 
Proverbs 19:23 states, “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.” 
The fear of God will give life in the place of death. 
With the fear of God, satisfaction takes the place of dissatisfaction.
The fear of God will become a position for one who fears Him, not accessible by evil. 
The fear of God in the lives of one will add unique testimonies to such. 
Abraham lived in the fear of God and could not withhold from his attempt to use Isaac for sacrifice as commanded by God. 
Abraham heard the word when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, “And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12) 
The fear of God is not compromiseable. 
Do you fear God, or do you think you fear Him? 
Isiah 55:10 states, “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. 
It matters to fear God. 
Fear God by living for His glory!

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God to overtake you in every area of living life.