FAITH CAPSULE: Strive not to live a life of telling lies.

Genesis 39

Those who lie and those who are lied to are of the same birds, with the same feathers.
Making a way of life by telling lies is bound for self-destruction.
There is no excuse for the consequences of telling lies.
Consciously or unconsciously telling lies will always have a painful consequence.
There is no place for telling lies before God.
There is no boasting or promoting the name of God by telling lies that will count before God.
Before God, there is no excuse for telling lies.
Telling lies is bona fide sinning.
There is no righteousness in sinning before God.
Romans 3:7-8 records, “For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.”
Strive not to live a life of telling lies.
Telling a minute lie is not different from telling big lies.
Twisting the truth of God is the same as telling lies.
Do not twist the truth of God as a way of engaging in wrongdoing.
Twisting the truth of God will lead one to become convinced that lying can make a way where there is no way. 
Twisting the truth of God will keep one far from God, to become set for evil. Psalm 56:5 testifies, “All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.” 
Are you one with no means of controlling yourself from unwarranted talking, that is a route of twisting the word of God? 
Pray not to live life as a liar.
Many are in danger of engaging in telling lies, adding to, or taking away from the word of God.
Do not dilute the word of God, reducing its power.
The word of God has been diluted in many ways, not retained in the heart.
The bible records the warning not to add to the word.
Proverb 30:6 warns, “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”
The book of Revelation 22:18 also warns, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.”
In the journey of life, avoid telling lies before God in any possible way.
Telling lies before God terminated the lives of Ananias and Saphira.
Ananias and his wife Saphira sold a possession to keep back part of the proceeds.
The act was a lie.
Peter made it known that Satan filled the heart of Ananias. (Acts 5)
Ananias and Saphira died a sudden death as a result of their lies.

Prayer for today: Ask that you have a heart not given to lies as a way of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Giving regard to God disregards all that is not of God.

Psalm 50

Know, to acknowledge God as a way of life.
Give regards to God always.
Glory, honor, and power belong to God always!
One who gives regard to God disregards all that is not of God.
Leviticus 19:31 records the word of God, “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”
Are you standing and claiming to be one with wisdom, assuming, as one who knows all, but not living for God?
Jeremiah 9:23-24 admonishes, “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,” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
One who understands and knows God is in a position to do great, to the glory of God.
Daniel 11:32 points out, “…but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”
Are you assuming boasting on your might or riches?
Under heaven, nothing one possesses is enough to surpass one who understands and knows God.
What have you possessed that gives you empty boldness, assuming you have the wisdom of the world, more than that of God?
God matters most in all areas of life.
Let all your understanding and knowledge be rooted in the wisdom of God alone.
Making the church a house is not enough to claim to know God
Do you understand and know God as your boast?
Among the ways of boasting in God is praising God at every moment.
Psalm 150:6 informs all, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 50:23 notifies all, “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
Let boasting in God become your way of life by praising God in all areas, walking with or before God.
Daniel did not boast about his great exploit of spending a night in the den of lions without a scratch.
Daniel boasted in God by saying that God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions, and they could not hurt him.
Acknowledging God is boasting in God.
David boasted in his God to convince Saul for permission to go against Goliath, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (1 Samuel 17:36-37)
David made his boast in the Lord and not in the might that he was able to kill a lion and bear.
Acknowledging God in your way of life, praising God.

Prayer for today: Ask that you be enabled to acknowledge God in every way of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: God does not owe anyone, but all owe God.

Psalm 100, Luke 17:11-19

Praising God and giving thanks to God is engaging God.
God does not owe anyone, but all owe God, to live life for His glory.
It is the will of God that all exists for His name.
Revelation 4:11 informs, “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
How are you living for God?
Living by the word of God constantly is the will of God.
The will of God is for all to seek Him as a way of life.
Live for God by giving thanks and praising God with understanding.
Are you living for God to please Him or the world?
Live to please God, not the world?
One with faith lives to please God.
Hebrews 11:5 states, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
The character of living for God is to engage the presence of God.
Psalm 100:4 confirms how to locate God and gain His presence.
The Psalmist states, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
To locate the gate of His presence is to access His courts. 
Giving thanks opens the gate while praise ushers one to His court.
Are you one who knows (not knows about) God, giving thanks and praises to God with understanding?
The Psalmist declares in Psalm 47:7, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.”
Understanding will give knowledge to prompt an undeniable result.
Thanking is crucial to experiencing God. 
Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to thank Jesus.
Luke 17:15-16 records, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks…”
Luke 17:17-18 Jesus responded to one who went back to give thanks, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
Evidently, God awaits a return to thank Him at all times.
When thanks are in response to an answered prayer, perfection shall back the answered prayer.
Ten lepers cried for healing before Jesus.
Jesus prayed for their healing.
Among the ten lepers, one returned to Jesus to offer thanks.
Jesus asked for the other nine that did not return with thanks.
The one who returned to give thanks to Jesus for his healing gained perfection for the healing from Jesus.
Praising God to engage the presence of God.
Anyone who praises God with understanding, not entertainment, will gain the presence of God to engage God.

Prayer for today: Ask your soul and heart to become a habit of praising and thanking God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Whatever is against you is a battle against you.

2 Chronicles 32:1-26

What is camping against you with the agenda to win over you?
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went against the Israelites when he entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over.
What is taking a stand to win over you?
In the case of the Israelites, Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem.
Hezekiah did not take battle by himself nor allow the threat of Sennacherib subdue his people but encouraged his people stating, “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”(2 Chronicles32:7-8)
Today, take encouragement in the word of Hezekiah in the face of your battle.
It is a strength to know that the arm of flesh will not overcome the help of God in the face of battle.
Do you know that the Lord is your God?
Know that the Lord God is more than able to fight your battle.
Know that it has never been seen or heard of God losing a battle on behalf of His children.
Any battle lost is the result of disobedience to the direction of God.
One with no rest of God is bound to fight against the enemy and not win.
One who no longer stands will not be far from falling.
Many have fallen; many are falling in the face of different battles because they do not let God fight the battle. The Israelites confessed negatively at the crossing of the Red Sea when they spoke to Moses, “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.” (Exodus 14:11-12)
A failure to speak right is setting oneself up for negative confession before God.
The Israelites failed to speak right and it disallowed God from rising on their behalf. Moses responded in faith, “…do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight your battle and you shall hold your peace.’” (Exodus 14:13-14)
In the face of your battle, gain strength in confessing positive things to rest in the power of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the power of God on your behalf in the time of battle.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not engage wicked in revenge.

Genesis 39

Joseph dislikes wickedness; sinning before God is evidently not his way of life.
The life of Joseph demonstrated seeking God.
Genesis 39:9 records the character of Joseph, “…How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Whatever anyone does before God continually will count and determine, such is seeking God.
Joseph continually lived against wickedness.
All great wickedness does not hide from God.
Wickedness does not escape the eyes of God.
Above all, great wickedness before God is having the word of God in the mouth but far from the mind. (Jeremiah 12:2)
The onset of wickedness towards Joseph is glaring, especially since his father loved him.
Genesis 37:3-4 records, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”
The testimony of the love of the father of Joseph is the evidence of the hatred of the brothers towards Joseph.
The wickedness was activated towards Joseph when:
Joseph had a dream of greatness, which provoked his brother to attempt to kill him, but later sold him into slavery, which took him to Egypt.
Joseph was not in a position to do wickedness in return for his brothers, but he found favor before God.
The Ishmaelites bought Joseph from his brothers.
As a slave in the house of Potiphar, the Lord was with him.
The wife of his master accused him, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” (Genesis 39:17-18)
Wrong accusation is wicked.
It was wickedness that followed Joseph that brought him into prison.
While in prison, he interpreted a dream, which drew the attention of others.
He gained the position to engage with the Pharaoh.
The interpretation of the dream by Pharaoh promoted Joseph from prison to become the Prime Minister of the land.
All through the journey of Joseph, there was no record of his responding to wickedness against him because his character retained the presence of God for him.
The brothers of Joseph unknowingly sought food in Egypt at the time of famine, as they located Joseph in a position of authority.
With no enmity from Joseph to the wickedness of his brothers, he received the brothers well.
The wickedness of the brothers of Joseph separated Joseph, at age seventeen, until he was over the age of thirty, when he saw his father.
Wickedness and sin could not derail Joseph from arriving at the center of his divine calling of God.

Prayer for today: Ask that evil will not deny your answering to the calling of God.