FAITH CAPSULE: What is your character like as a believer or not a believer?

Acts 5:1-11

Is it true of you that deception and telling lies are your character or not?
As an acclaimed believer, what is your character? 
Man can experience deception, but God sees all, and nothing can hide from God. 
As smoke is not separate from burning fire, deceit and telling lies cannot be separated from majority acclaimed believers. 
Who you are before God is not what the people see or assume you that counts
The story of Ananias and Sapphira is evidence of acclaimed believers with the skill of deception and telling lies. 
Acts 5:1-2 records, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also, being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” 
For Ananias and Sapphira, to sell their possession was voluntary without evidence of force on them. 
Ananias and Sapphira acted good of heart, but they were wrong as evidence of deception and telling lies revealed about them. 
Both husband and wife entertained the devil, filled with the devil. 
Ananias and Sapphira’s deception and telling lies became a revelation for Peter to identify the lies of Ananias and Sapphira to respond by speaking, “…Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4) 
Could it be that Ananias and Sapphira had been lying long before it finally caught up with them, or was it just their first time? 
Telling lies can go on for a long or a short period. 
However, it only takes one day for the truth to prevail over the lies of many years. 
Before God, there is no small or big lie. 
A lie is a lie, evidence of sin. 
Sin offers nothing but death. 
Both Ananias and Sapphira died instantly.
Is it true of you that deception and telling lies are your character?
Deception and telling lies are not accessible to the dwelling of God. 
Also, regularly attending church is not evidence of dwelling in the presence of God. 
Those whose garment is of telling lies absent from the presence of God shall be their portion. 
The book of Psalm 101:7-8stated, “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.”
Today come out of deception and telling lies to gain and retain the presence of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for deliverance from the spirit of lie and deception.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you an acclaimed believer not separated from telling lies, are you?

John 4

An acclaimed believer that hides hatred for another is a liar.
Are you having hatred for some, or focus hatred on a particular one?
Proverbs 10:18 identifies one with hatred rooted in heart, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips.”
Are you a celebrated liar? 
Are you a liar that claims to be a believer in the word of God?
A believer or unbeliever with hatred is taking a distance from God to experience hindered progress. 
The Bible clearly states that anyone with lying lips hides hatred. 
Jesus Christ did not hide hatred or tell lies in every step of His ministry. 
Unlike Christ-like, many acclaimed believers minister in lies to manipulate and deceive, claiming God.
Are you an acclaimed believer that the truth of God increases through your lie to the glory of God? (Romans 3:7)
Know that God does not sleep. 
God is the only judge of all lies under heaven.
Let your ministration and testimony not be colored with lies expecting to glorify God.
With truthfulness and no hatred, Jesus went through Samaria on His way from Judea to Galilee. 
Going through Samaria is often forbidden by the Jews because of hatred for the Samarians. 
Jesus came in love and could not walk outside of love. 
Are you an acclaimed Christ-like with hatred rooted in your heart? 
Is the influence of hatred causing you to sidetrack your calling?
At the hate-polluted route, Jesus was able to plant one of the most effective testimonies of salvation. 
Jesus bypassed hatred to allow the revelation of living water to come to life and become more distinct. 
In this route of hatred, He encountered a Samaritan woman to ask her for water to drink. 
Jesus introduced the living water to the Samaritan woman because hatred did not influence Jesus. 
Jesus knew that the woman had no what it takes to draw living water for Him to drink. 
In this route, Jesus made it known to the Samaria woman, “…Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)
In the hatred route of sin, the Samaritan woman received the message of Jesus with joy and went to testify to Jesus. 
The Samaritan woman had an encounter with Jesus to gain strength and a song of salvation. 
The hatred route of sin could not derail nor deny Jesus from the business of the kingdom. 
Are you on the right track of your calling but trapped by hatred? 
Without a doubt, hatred encases pride, which is a ride to self-destruction. 
Deny self; deny untruthfulness, to disallow hatred to come your way of calling. 
With no hatred, serve as Christ alike. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you not to be a vessel of hatred.

FAITH CAPSULE: Faith causes man to seek God diligently.

Hebrews 11

One without faith will not be truthful and cannot seek God diligently.
Knowing the truth is what God expects from a true believer. 
The word of God calls for believers to know the truth because it makes one that knows it free. (John 8:32)
Knowing the truth is having faith. 
One that is true shall be faithful and free by God in a wicked world.
Genesis 6:5 states, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” 
Truly faithful is what one needs to live pleasing God by not having a heart continually occupied with evil. 
Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Having faith will be seeking God diligently. 
There is known born with faith, but faith comes by consistently hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) 
With an understanding of faith, as stated above, the knowledge of the description of faithfulness enhances a true believer.
The Bible describes faith as “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it, the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)
In this description of faith, two things will happen in the life of the truthful believer: Obtaining good testimony; Understanding the word.
Obtaining good testimony: 
Good testimony is the testimony of God.
One that obtains good testimony settles forever. 
For example, with faith, Abraham obtained the testimony of God because he dwelt in the land of promise, the city whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
Sarah: By faith, she obtained good testimony and experienced expectation of manifestation in her life.
Bible records for Sarah, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:11)
Like Abraham and Sarah, faithful men such as Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses obey God to obtain good testimony.
Understanding the word: Understanding the word of God will cause a man to stand as a believer in this wicked world. 
Understanding is the key to applying knowledge.
Understanding the world was framed by the word of God shall not experience a faith failure. 
There should be an understanding that the word of God framed the world, and it is more than enough for one to obey, dwell and wait on the word of God in engaging and overcoming as one who is in command.

Prayer for today: Ask that you gain the truth and understanding of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: God cares for man but is man mindful of Him?

Psalm 8

Acts 13:22 records King David, “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” 
Word testifies that David is a man after the heart of God, meaning that David knows the heart of God. 
David points out the care of God for all.  
Psalm 8:4, 144:3 records the questioning of David before God, “Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?” 
The question of David is the question of faith, not of doubt but out of his curiosity about the mindfulness of God for man. 
God is a good God that is mindful of man.
God is a merciful God. 
Despite the consistent sinful engagement of man, God remains consistently merciful.
God is mindful of all, but are you of God?
Mindful of God is thought of all man while man is full of the world.
The will of God is the thoughts of God towards man. 
God confirms in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” 
God meant what He said, and He will do what He says He will do. 
The thoughts of God are good; His thoughts toward man are not in the assembly line, and His thoughts are already in place for all to understand and know. 
God does have mind-thought in place for all man, waiting for all man to enter His will. 
God is mindful of man. 
The plan of God is for man to enter what He has already put in place if all will know to ask. 
The word of Jesus encourages in Luke 11:9, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 
Jesus commands all to ask but not stuck for begging. 
Asking is praying or calling on God through the name of Jesus Christ. 
A prayer that will never miss its target is asking for the will of God. 
If there is any plan or place where a believer wants to be, it should be in the will of God. 
Jesus taught His disciples to always pray for the will of God (Matthew 6:10).
Are you asking, seeking, knocking for the will of God?
The word of King David admonishes, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1) 
In his waiting, he positioned himself in the word of God.
Wait patiently to receive and not miss to claim the promise of God.

Prayer for today: Ask for the mercy of God to locate you.

FAITH CAPSULE: Remember the mercies of God.

Psalm 106

In the journey of life, a lack of understanding of the wonders of God is so critical to terminate the arrival at the promise of God.
With a lack of understanding of the wonders of God, one will not remember the mercies of God. 
One that does not remember the mercies of God is bound to become rebellious to the word of God.
Psalm 106:7 records the testimony of the lack of understanding of the wonders of God by the Israelites, “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of your mercies but rebelled by the sea-the Red Sea.”  
Lack of understanding is the root of rebellion and the complaint, particularly a negative confession.
For example, Numbers 14:1-4 record the complaint of the Israelites,“…And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt…?”
As the Israelites were with the lack of understanding, are you of the same that is complaining negatively before God? 
The complaint before God is a sin that will provoke consequences like that experience of the Israelites with the complaint negative.
God responds to the complaint of the Israelites, “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness…” (Numbers 14:28-30) 
Are you with the understanding of God not to live a life of waste?
Understanding is not of the mouth but the heart. 
Understanding is critical to living life for the glory of God.
Understanding the wonders of God will cause one to remember and eliminate rebellious nature. 
Proverbs 16:22 testifies that “Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it…”  
Wellspring is a source of abundant supply. 
With understanding, one will have the abundance of life Jesus brought for all. 
The Israelites lack the understanding to become wasted in the wilderness.
Forgetting the works of God or not giving self to the word of God cannot be separated from the lack of understanding of the doings of God. 
Psalm 106:13-14 points out the Israelites, “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert.”  
One that is not mindful of the works of God will forget the doing of God to become of sin before God. 
The Israelites forgot; they could not wait on God but died in sin and did not get to the Promised Land.
One with a lack of understanding of the doings of God will not remember but will fail to believe in what God has done and can do. 

Prayer for today: Ask for the understanding of the doing of God in your life.