FAITH CAPSULE: What kind of a believer are you?

Genesis 22

All are to live life for God.
Revelation 4:11 records it, “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.”
To exist for God is to be living life, serving God.
God is a jealous God.
God asked the Israelites from the Pharaoh to let them go and serve Him.
Exodus 7:16 record the word of God, “let my people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness.”
What kind of a believer are you?
Are you a believing believer or an unbelieving believer of God?
What is holding you down from serving God?
A believer answers to God by serving Him.
Serving God is seeking God.
Seeking God is not by mouth but seeking Him in the heart diligently.
Deuteronomy 4:29 records what it means to seek God diligently: “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
If diligently seeking God is not possible, the word of God will not ask for it.
Abraham is an example that sought God diligently.
Abraham gave his heart and soul to seek God diligently.
God asked for the only son of Abraham for sacrifice, and he obeyed God.
Abraham obeyed God to gain and retain the promises of God for obedience in serving Him.
To have joy, gladness, and communicate before God is serving God.
A failure to serve God does have consequences.
JOY AND GLADNESS
Deuteronomy 28:47-48 documents the consequence of not serving God. “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48, therefore, you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.”
COMMUNICATION
For example, speaking before God consciously or unconsciously is communicating before God.
Luke 6:45 states, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Provers 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” 
Numbers 14:28 testify when anyone serves God by communicating before Him, He will respond as: “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.”
With understanding, serve God, seek Him by communication, and have joy and gladness as a way of life.
What kind of believer are you?

Prayer for today: Pray that you will live life to serve God for His glory.

FAITH CAPSULE: Keeping eyes for the eyes of God will gain the attention of God.

Exodus 1, 2

The word of God gained is the evidence of the word entered into the life of one.
Psalm 119:130 testifies, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” 
The entrance of the word of God into the life of one is only possible by hearing and hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) 
When the word of God gains entrance, faith in God becomes established.
Do you have faith in God by carrying the word of God day and night? 
Knowing about God by quoting or making noise of the word of God is not the same as knowing God. 
Seek God diligently in His word to know God.
Knowing God is the assurance not to be a victim of this wicked world. Knowing God will prompt one to be loyal to God. 
One that is loyal to God will know to be keeping eyes on God. 
2 Chronicles 16:9 buttresses, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…”
Keeping eyes for the eyes of God will gain the attention of God.
To gain the attention of God is to experience deliverance and preservation from God.
God delivers and preserves the loyal with a heart for Him.
The crying of the Israelites before God is evidence of keeping the eyes of God.
The Pharaoh was a new king in power in Egypt who did not know Joseph. 
The king of Egypt passed a law that put the children of Israel under the affliction of the taskmaster.
Are you experiencing the pain of the wicked in your life? 
It does not matter what the activity of the evil one is about but keeping eyes on God shall deliver and preserve.
Whatever God builds, no one can bring it down. 
Pharaoh’s effort to terminate the growth of the children of Israel resulted in the multiplication of the Israelites. 
The appointed taskmasters’ effort failed, and the direction to midwives to kill every male son could not interrupt the plans of God. 
God increased, delivered, and preserved the Israelites. 
Pharaoh tried to reduce the increase of God over the Israelites.
Exodus 1:22 records, “So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.’”  
It was after Pharaoh’s command to terminate the growth of Israelites that Moses was born.
Moses grew up to be used by God for the deliverance of Israelites from the wicked plan of Pharaoh.
The enemy will attempt to break you while the plan of God will build you.
Keep eyes on God for Him to keep His eyes on you.

Prayer for today: Ask that you will always keep your eyes on God.

FAITH CAPSULE: The difference between wicked and righteous are open to God.

Psalm 73

Growth is the process of increasing in amount, value, or importance. 
Expansion, multiplication, progress, development, and buildup describe growth.
Growth in life is possible in every area, but not all measured growth is pleasing before God. 
God alone sees growth differently from how all see growth.
Under heaven, wicked and righteous are both growing. 
Without a doubt, many wicked are growing while the righteous experience challenges that reduce growth.
God sees every wicked activity, and however appointed time to judge belongs to God.
The wicked shall not escape the appointed time of God.
Are you one envying the shining of wicked activities while the challenge is holding down the growth of the righteous?
Psalmist responds to wickedness: “For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish.” (Psalm 73:3-7)
Are you in a hurry to see the judgment of God over the wicked ones? 
A true believer should not fear or envy the wicked ones but keep the focus on God. 
God does have His appointed time to judge and reduce wickedness.
The same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow will not overlook the wickedness of today. 
Jesus states, “Let both grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:30) 
Where do you stand? 
Are you a representative of wheat or tare? 
Are you a wicked one or a righteous one? 
Just as wheat and tare receive rainfall to enhance their growth, the wicked and righteous are under the sun to be shining.
Often, there is no clear distinction to identify tares from the wheat, just as wicked ones are not glaring as evil. 
The difference between wicked and righteous cannot escape the appointed time of God.
Are you with attention to the way of the wicked ones not to be a victim of the wicked ones?  
Pay attention to the psalmist to learn to trust and hope in God. 
Psalm 73:26-28 document, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God…” God sees all, and you should look away from the wicked one, know that the appointed time of God shall come.

Prayer for today: Ask God in His faithfulness to deliver you from wicked ways.

FAITH CAPSULE: Faith-failure result is rooted in distraction. 

Matthew 16

Distraction can deny or derail anyone from arrival at the center of divine assignment. 
In your life journey, are you entertaining any agent of distraction consciously or unconsciously?
The failure of the Israelites to follow the command of God was faith-failure. 
In challenging times, the Israelites confessed negatives, not having faith in God. 
God responded to the faith failure of the Israelites through Moses: “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, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” (Numbers 14:28-30)   
Failure to serve God with the whole heart is evidence of not following Him fully. 
As a result of not following God fully, every Israelite that left Egypt above the age of twenty failed to complete their journey to the Promised Land. Are you serving God fully to avoid failure, not to arrive at the promise of God? Many are committed believers as the prayer intercessors, choir leaders, ushers, Sunday school teachers, deacons, and elders do not follower Christ fully. 
Jesus responded to uncommitted believers: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) 
Are you a committed believer, following Jesus fully with no deception to manipulate others? 
Is there any way to hear better, to understand and know that in serving Him, one must follow Him fully? 
Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor.” (John 12:26) 
Give your ear to hear the word of God.
A believer with distraction shall become impossible to follow God fully.
Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, followed Jesus but was distracted in her following Jesus. 
The Bible records the issue of the distraction of Martha: Luke 10:39-40 records, “And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord do you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” 
The case of Martha is evidence of serving God with distraction and not following God fully.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you against any agent of distraction.

FAITH CAPSULE: Samson slips into a careless sleep to become a victim of his enemies. 

Judges 16

Samson became a target for his enemy to destroy his life.
Judges 16:1-2 records, “Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went into her. When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”  
The enemies of Samson failed could not kill him because he was hiding in the living word of God with command over his life. 
Before the birth of Samson, God sent His word through His angel that declared that Samson should be a Nazirite (not to drink wine, not to eat anything unclean, and no razor should touch his hair) from birth for the rest of his life.
Samson could not become a victim of his enemies. 
With a lion, Samson tears up the lion like a young goat (Judges14:5-6). 
The power demonstration in the life of Samson was uncommon because the word of God was intact over his life as his hiding place. 
The spirit of God constantly kept and delivered Samson from trouble. 
He was a mighty man of God that was hiding in the word of God. 
Are you hiding in the word of God for your preservation?
The living word of God that is keeping one from evil agenda must be jealously secured, and there should never be a careless sleep for one hiding in the word of God.
A careless sleep over the word of God is the avenue to slip up to fall into the hand enemy for an untimely death.
Samson later exposed himself to the wicked world as Delilah, his wife, penetrated his life.
Samson should have seen the warning signals when he engaged Delilah, whose name means lustful. 
With lust comes temptation. 
Delilah, the lustful one, brought temptation to Samson in an attempt to terminate Samson before his time. 
Samson entered a careless sleep after revealing the source of his hiding in the word of God wrongly to Delilah. 
Judges 16:20 records, “And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson! So he awoke from the sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free! But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.’” 
The slipup of Samson was a careless sleep which made him a victim of his enemy.
Samson had a careless sleep; the word of God vacated him, and he became a victim of his enemy.
Are you having a careless sleep that keeps one as a hiding place? 
A careless violation of the word of God is a violation to become a victim of an evil agenda. 

Prayer for today: Ask that you will not become a victim of not hiding in the word of God.