FAITH CAPSULE: Joy and rejoicing are the portions of one living by the word of God.

Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4

The word of Jesus to His disciples confirms that His word is the source of joy. John 15:11 records, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”  
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 be with the joy of the Lord in life.
What is taking away the joy of the Lord in your life?
One with sorrow does not have joy.
Choose joy to deny sorrow.
Nehemiah talked about sorrow when he spoke to the Israelites. 
He speaks against sorrowing, encouraging them to have the joy of the Lord that is the source of strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
Are you experiencing sorrow?
Receive and believe in the living word of God that is the source of joy.
Exchange sorrow for joy to be strength-full, not to become a victim of the wicked world the author of sorrow issues.
One that is hearing and hearing the word of God is bound to be full of joy to access the presence of God. 
With joy is the access to 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) 
God has not promised and failed to deliver!
What God says He will do is a done deal.
In the place of joy, one with joy should not have a place for worrying in the world. 
One that receives and believes in the word should have no place for worrying but rejoicing because the word of Jesus speaks to all, “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 claims to have accepted Christ, living life for God, will have the strength of God rooted in joy.
What is it that is denying the joy of God in your life?
In a time of every challenging situation, engaging the word of God by knowing that God can intervene by His word shall eventually gain the deliverance and preservation of God.
Live life by His word to experience the unfailing joy of God.
Joy and rejoicing are the portions of one that live life by the word of God regardless of challenging times. 

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

FAITH CAPSULE: What kind of a believer are you?

Philippians 4

The believers of the word of God are to be living the word of God.
Many are a believer by mouth, not in the way of life as a believer.
With a determination backed by a meaningful prayer, one shall become a believer in the word of God.
Besides, prayer to become a believer is also in watching.
Watching is listening.
By listening, one will gain understanding.
Rhetorically, Jesus asked and answered about understanding, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (John 8:43) 
With understanding, believe the word of God to gain the PEACE of God.
A meaningful PEACE of God is rooted in the word of God.
Philippians 4:7 records the promise of God, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
WHAT KIND OF A BELIEVER ARE YOU?
*A believer is not by noise-making quoting the word of God from Genesis to Revelation (as in gaining attention) to the world.
* A believer in answering to a glamorous title with no engaging task?  
* Are you a believer not walking but sleeping, not a light of the world that is hidden or salt with no taste?
As a believer, pray the prayer of understanding.
Psalm 47:7 informs all to praise God with understanding the evidence of calling for engaging God in all with understanding.
Every ground of seeking God diligently to gain from God should understand as Jesus asked, and all are to pray a prayer of understanding continually.
Also, it should be the portion of a believer to give self to wisdom and knowledge.
1 Corinthians 1:30 records that Jesus is the wisdom of God for all.
One with wisdom will have an edge to be stable in a challenging world.
Isaiah 33:6 states, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.”
PRAYER
Ask that God enable you to know and to be listening to His word for understanding, not to become a victim of failure in every endeavor.
Ask that listening to the word of God shall be your way of living life.
Ask that God enable you with a listening ability continually.
Ask that you will not be looking before you listen, which is a spirit of assumption in every assignment.
Ask that you shall not look outside of God into looking at the world for the intervention by the world.
Ask that you become a believer occupied with the wisdom and knowledge of God to gain that stability by God in the challenging time of the world.
Ask for the mercy of God to endow you with His peace that surpasses all understanding, that you will not live a life of confusion in every move of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: One that rises to obey shall move as directed by the word of God,

1 Samuel 15

Obedience demands commitment with no promise for convenience. 
Obedience demands agreement or submission.
Think of it and know that obedience is sacrifice.
The word of God demands to obey with no excuse or compromise. 
Rising in obedience to the word of God is not enough without moving as commanded by the word of God.
King Saul was an example of rising in obedience to the word of God but could not move forward to do according to the word of God.
For example, 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 as decided on his own against the word of God. 
Disobedience to God will always provoke the rejection of disobedience by God.
Rising in obedience to the word of God is not enough without moving obediently to God. 
Many are failing before God, not obeying according to the word of God.
Are you one with a disobedience lifestyle before God?
Jonah, a servant of God, answered but failed to move according to the word of God. The Bible 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 1:1-3) 
Jonah responded by hearing but followed the dictates of his heart.
The disobedience of Jonah was half-obedience.
The disobedience of Jonah led him into the belly of a fish, a dark place, on the unfamiliar ground for Jonah. 
An act of disobedience will dislocate you unfailingly.
Disobedience to the word of God is not complete obedience. 
Many answers to God obediently but do not obey in the journey of the calling by 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 be fully obeyed is all that counts before God. 
Excuse for disobedience failed King Saul. 
One disobedient to God despises God.

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

FAITH CAPSULE: God waits to act for those that run from His calling. 

Exodus 3

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 that is running away from answering the calling of God will be forever before hands are up to become arrested by God.
The awesome eternal God is in perfect control over all His creation. 
The word testified the extension of His hand that is unavoidable. 
For example, Moses ran away from Egypt to end at the location where he was tracked down with no more track to run on.
At Horeb, the mountain of God, Moses was with 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.” 
God waits to act for those that run from His calling. 
God may want to send one to the North Pole but run to the South Pole in an attempt to escape from the calling of God.
Moses gained the attention of the Angel of the Lord when the bush in a fire did not burn. (Exodus 3:3) 
God waited for the runner Moses to put him to arrest for his calling assignment. 
In life, pay attention that God is giving attention to your speed. 
The attention of God draws the answering of Moses. Exodus 3:4 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.” 
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, “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. 
Are you one that is running far from God or too fast for God to put you under His arrest?
Know this day that God will wait or stretch out His hand to draw your attention to His intention. 
Ezekiel needed to receive the touch of God to know that power belongs to God.

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

 FAITH CAPSULE: Disregard the title not to deny the word of God. 

Numbers 20:1-13

What is holding you and not obeying God?
As simple as God commands in His word, with simple obedience, do as He command. 
Proverbs 13:13 warns, “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”
The word of God is not a suggestion but a command to obey.
The word of God is not a decoration for man to despise. 
Diligently, continually, give yourself to obey the word of God.
The word of God is healing, deliverance, preservation, and direction for one that obeys.
The word of God is truthful. With understanding and knowledge of the word of God, you will not disregard the word of God.
Disregard the title not to deny the word of God. 
At all times, there is no excuse to disobey as commanded by the word of God. 
A failure to disobey the word of God is a choice that comes with a consequence. 
Pray to live life by the word of God because determination is not enough to live by the word of God. 
In Numbers 20:7, God gave commands to Moses, God-ordained overseer of the Israelites, at the deliverance from the bondage of over four hundred years, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 
The command (word) of God to Moses was not a suggestion.
Moses chose to break the word of God. 
Breaking the word of God is the choice to disobey God and not hallow God. In the life of a journey, failing to hallow God is an avenue not to get to the divine assignment of God.
Moses, a giant in the hand of God, reduced his fulfillment by not being able to enter the Promised Land that God promised the children of Israel.
Be specific as commanded by God. 
God commanded Moses to provide water for the children of Israel by speaking to the rock, but Moses responded in his way to obey the word of God. 
To fully obey God is half-obedience, just as doing right in the wrong way. 
However, water came forth, but Moses fell short of complying with the direction of God. 
Numbers 20:11-12 records the disobedience of Moses before God: “Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’’
Moses was not specific to the command and could not do simply enough as commanded by God. 
Moses spoke and struck the rock when not commanded to strike the rock.

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