FAITH CAPSULE: The word of God that enters will give joy.

Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4

Receive and believe in the living word of God.
The word of Jesus to His disciples confirms the word of God that enters as the source of joy when He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) 
John also confirms the word of Jesus as a source of joy, stating, “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4) 
Paul the apostle buttresses, “…Christ is preached, and in this, I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18) 
One that allows the entrance of the word of God shall retain and be full of the joy of the Lord in life.
What is taking away the joy of the Lord?
One with sorrow does not have joy.
Choose joy to deny sorrow.
Nehemiah states against sorrow in his word to the Israelites when he said, do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
Are you experiencing sorrow?
Receiving and believing in the living word of God is the source of joy.
Exchange sorrow for joy to be strength-full, not to become a victim of the wicked world.
One that is hearing and hearing the word of God is bound to be full of joy to access the presence of God. 
The psalmist testifies, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) 
Has He promised and not done? 
In the place of joy, one with joy should not have a place for worrying in the world. 
One that has received and believes in the word should have no place for worrying but rejoicing because Jesus, the word of God, the source of joy, says: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
One that opens for the entrance of the word to live the purpose of God will have the strength of God, the root of joy.
What is it that is denying the joy of God in your life?
In a time of every challenging situation, engage the word of God by knowing that challenges shall eventually work together for good for one with the presence of God.
One that lives life by His word, rejoicing will become the portion of such in the face challenges of the world. 

Prayer for today: Ask God that the word of God become established in you.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you one with a disobedient lifestyle before God? 

1 Samuel 15

Obedience demands commitment but denies convenience. 
Before God, disobedience is complete disobedience.
An act of disobedience will dislocate one unfailingly.
Think of it and know that obedience is sacrifice.
The word of God demands obedience with no excuse or compromise. 
Rising in response to the word of God is not enough without moving directly to the word of God.
King Saul was an example of disobedience to the word of God and not moving forward to do according to the word of God.
God sent Samuel to Saul, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel, and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3) 
King Saul rose in obedience but failed to move according to the word of God.
Saul spared some and destroyed others as he was pleased to disobey the word of God. 
Disobedience to God will always provoke God against the disobedient one.
Rising in obedience to the word of God is not enough without moving to do as commanded. 
Many are failing before God, not obeying according to the word of God.
Are you one with a disobedient lifestyle before God?
Jonah, a servant of God, answered but failed to move according to the word of God. 
Jonah 1:1-3 records, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 ’Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”  
Jonah responded by hearing but followed the dictates of his heart.
The disobedience of Jonah was half-obedience.
The disobedience led him into the belly of a fish, a dark place, an unfamiliar ground for Jonah. 
An act of disobedience will dislocate one unfailingly.
Disobedience to the word of God is not complete obedience. 
So many have started with obedience to God but failed as disobedient to God.
Jonah, by his disobedience, entered self-affliction.
Jonah called on God, “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: ‘I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol, I cried, and You heard my voice.” (Jonah 2:1-2) 
God answered Jonah, and his repentance to God delivered him from incomplete obedience. 
To fully obey the command of God is all that counts before God. 
Excuse for disobedience failed King Saul. 
Disobedience is not what God wants from all.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you not to be a failure in His calling over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Obey to experience the miracle hand of God.

Deuteronomy 28

Obedience is to believe and do what God says. 
The character of obedience will demonstrate having trust and hope in God.
To obey is like gaining access to the door of blessing as stated, “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 28:2) 
One having trust and hope is like having the key to the opening door of blessing. 
Jeremiah 17:7 buttresses, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” 
Obedience demands hearing to do the word of God. 
Philippians 4:9 records the importance of hearing and doing as obedience to God, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Are you obeying God to have the blessing of having the peace of God?
One that hears and heeds the word of God shall see a miracle. 
Acts 8:5-8 records, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” 
Philip preached Christ (the Word of God), and many heard him heed and see the miracle hand of God.
With obedience by hearing and heeding, seeing the miracle of the hand of God answers in the life of obedience.
Understanding the blessing of obeying the word of God also demands the need to understand the consequence of disobeying the word of God. 
In life, not hearing and heeding is taking the route of curses. 
The book of Deuteronomy 28:15 records, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”
No one can deceive God.
James 1:22-23 admonishes, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.” 
Know that sacrificial service to God is good. 
However, sacrificial service is not enough if hearing and doing the word of God is not a way of life before God.
Attend the word of God to know, “…to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

Prayer for today: Ask that hearing and doing the word of God shall be your way of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Study the word to understand and know the importance of doing good to the glory of God.

Proverbs 6

God is good. 

His Spirit is good. (Psalm 143:10) 
Good is the character of God. 
Jesus responded to a ruler calling Him good, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, but one that is God. (Luke 18:19) 
There is no good as God. 
It is the goodness of God that makes Him endure for everlasting. (Psalm 118:1, 136:1)
Those who study the word will understand and know the importance of doing good to the glory of God. 
Also, knowledge and understanding of doing good will provoke the good hand of God upon one doing good. 
Doing good is what is acceptable to God. 
Since the beginning of creation, it is what is good that God expects. 
The Bible records, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good…” (Genesis 1:1-4) 
The character is God.
Good is what God looked for throughout His history and creation.
Through the scriptural verses, the word of God repeatedly admonishes all about the importance of doing good, 
“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.” (3 John 1:11) “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” (1Peter 3:13)
“But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16) 
“This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (Titus 3:8) 
“Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.” (Psalm 73:1)
What is doing good before good God?
Doing good describes one as morally excellent, righteous, pious (having or showing a dutiful spirit, to be reverence for God) 
Doing good is what God likes but hates evil which is the opposite of doing good. 
Knowing and understanding what God hates should make obeying the word of God. 
Doing good is also about staying away from what God hates. 
The book of Proverbs 6:16-19 identifies seven things the Lord God hates stating, “These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, and One who sows discord among brethren.” 
Knowing what God hates should keep man to be doing good.

Prayer for today: Ask God to impact you by doing good for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do you know where or how God is waiting for you in your running? 

 Exodus 3

God is in perfect control over all His creation.
One can run from answering the calling of God, but God will only need to wait for the runner.
Are you running from God? 
God does not need to run before catching up with His creation.
The fastest-created one running away from answering the calling of God will not escape the hand of God.
The awesome eternal God is in perfect control over all His creation. 
The word testifies to the extension of His hand that is unavoidable. 
For example, Moses ran away from Egypt to end at the location where running away from all challenges had no more track to run on.
Moses was leading the flock when God rounded him up. 
Exodus 3:2 records, “…the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.” 
Do you know where or how God is waiting for you in your running? 
When God wants to send one to the North Pole, running away to the South Pole, it is not enough for such to escape from the hand of God.
Moses gained the attention of the Angel of the Lord while the bush in a fire did not burn.
Moses saw a fire burning, and the bush did not burn. (Exodus 3:3) 
God waited for the runner Moses to answer his calling assignment. 
In life, pay attention that God is giving attention to your speed. 
The attention of God draws the answering of Moses. 
The Bible records, “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
Just like Moses, Ezekiel did not run from God before the outstretched hand of God reached him and set him up for the assignment of God.
Ezekiel testifies to the hand of God upon him, “The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:1-2) 
The hand of God came upon Ezekiel to get his attention for the intention of God. 
By your understanding, do you think you are running far from God or too fast for God to put you under His arrest?
Know it this day that God will wait or stretch out His hand to draw your attention to His intention. 
Ezekiel experienced the hand of God that God is in control to reach any of His creation as He wants to.

Prayer for today: Ask not to run against the calling of God over your life.