FAITH CAPSULE: The record of laborious prayer of Jesus. 

Daniel 3

A faithful one can be prayerfully violent against a challenging situation.
Be prayerfully violent to reverse the irreversible situation in your life.
Matthew 11:12 testifies to violent faith, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” 
At times, the irreversible situation in life will only respond to become reversed for good when violent faith takes charge.
A violent faith can be engaging laborious prayer.
Luke 22:44 records a laborious prayer of Jesus, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
The record of laborious prayer is evidence that all should engage in prayer violence in a challenging situation.
A lion is with nature of violence to engage challenges.
Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:36) to illustrate His gentleness and willingness to be the sacrifice for our sins. 
Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5) to display His absolute authority and power over all challenges.
As a believer (walking in Him) that has received Jesus as the Lord and savior, why not live life as a lion? 
All that is walking in Him must be as a lion that stirs up to confront the irreversible situation. 
Lions do not travail but prevail.
Lion is a symbol of dominion-breakthrough with boldness and character. 
With the expectation for a challenging situation to become reversed from irreversible, do not be gentle but activate the lion character in you.
CHARACTERS OF VIOLENT FAITH
Spiritually resolute: 
By faith, we are to be unbending and never give up but to gain and retain the presence of God in desires.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (three friends of Daniel) refused to serve Nebuchadnezzar gods or worship the gold image. 
The three friends of Daniel were unbending but faced judgment in a fiery furnace of fire.
The three friends of Daniel came out of the fire ordered by Nebuchadnezzar with no smell of burnt on them but were promoted in the land by Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 3) 
Violent faith will not fail but will prevail as the three friends of Daniel quenched the ordered evil fire of Nebuchadnezzar.
Confidently restful:
Violent faith, a Lion character will not turn away from the irreversible situation. 
Proverbs 30:30 records, “A lion, which is mighty among beasts, and does not turn away from any.” 
A lion is an absolute self-defense. 
Jesus sleeping in the storm testifies to confident rest. Mark 4:37-39 records, “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” 
One with the understanding of the word of God is to gain confidence to rest in the time of a challenging situation, the evidence of a violent character.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to live life by His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Distraction does not announce the plan to destroy when it strikes its victims. 

Psalm 22

Distraction will derail or deny arrival to the calling of God.
Are you avoiding the patterns of distraction in your life?
One that watches and prays is set to recognize distraction that wants to militate against one.
Get to know and give attention to deny distractions from close ones or from a distance to distract.
Deny distraction in your life.
One that receives Christ as Lord and Savior do not exempt such from encountering distraction, but with vigilant can avoid not becoming a victim.
Many have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, but the agents of distraction are in place to deny the attention of focusing on God to live life for God. 
Does that sound like you?
If you have received Jesus into your life, stand still by looking up to avoid distraction, not to become derailed from dwelling and abiding in the presence of God.
Martha was a victim of distraction. 
When Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, she could not avoid distraction from denying her to gain a position in the presence of Jesus. Luke 10:38 records, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.’” (Luke 10:40) 
Just like Martha, have you welcomed Jesus into your house? 
Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, but distraction denied her from the presence of Jesus.  
Who or what is your distraction? 
Watch against devices of distraction that prompt the loss of focus on God.
Anyone that is not careful shall be distracted will assault to prevent from arriving at the divine assignment of God.
Also, distraction will make it almost impossible to prevail in the life of the journey. 
Distraction can be a disruption or disturbance.
Distraction does not announce the plan to destroy when it strikes its victims. 
Distraction can also be an indefinable force that will derail to deny a man from having faith to see God.
The challenging time of today shall provoke distraction not to focus on God.
Do not become a victim of failure and evil occurrences over your life.
For all, with no exception, distraction is of the enemy, to derail arrival at the assignment of God.
There is no one with exception from distraction.
The word of God repeatedly warns all to watch and pray.
The prayer is to ask God to enable you with watching and praying. 
The pattern of distraction for you to become derailed in answering the calling of God shall not be your portion.

Prayer for today: Ask from God not to become a victim of distraction from answering in His calling over you.

FAITH CAPSULE: Think and wait on God that waits to act for those who wait on Him.

1 Kings 19

God alone is the Only perfect God. 
Time is in the hand of God to control, and none dictates to God determining how time goes.
God is is in a position to call anyone to His attention without being avoided by anyone.
Jonah attempted to avoid the calling assignment of God, but he could not hide but only run. 
Jonah 1:1-3 records, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 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.”
Under heaven, no one can avoid the calling of God. 
The effort of Jonah to run away from answering to the calling of God placed him in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Are you avoiding by running away from the hand of God, the calling of God? 
God does have unfailing means to get attention from any of His creations.
When it was time for God to call Moses, there was no way out for Moses to avoid the calling of God. 
Exodus 3:1-3 states, “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And 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. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 
Ignorance is not possible for turning aside from God. 
Ignorance will hold one from answering to the calling of God.
God called Elisha through Elijah.
God said to Elijah, “And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.” (1 Kings 19:16)
Elisha delayed his answering to the calling of God when he responded first to Elijah, “And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” (1 King 19;19)
Elisha eventually put all aside to follow Elijah, answering to the calling of God. 1 Kings 19:21 records, “…Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.”
What is holding you from answering to the calling of God over your life?
Think and wait on God that waits to act for those who wait on Him.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you in His righteousness.

FAITH CAPSULE: To be responsible is a price for greatness.

1Timothy 4

To be asking from God in every direction, meditating the word of God, and committing the word of God are among the ways to live life responsibly to become great.
ASKING FOR DIRECTION FROM GOD
In the journey of life, it is a responsibility to always ask for the direction of God that never fails but leads to greatness.
One should be responsible by seeking the way of God to arrive at the expected of the journey in life.
Responsibly, the venture of David to save Keilah from the Philistines is why David inquired direction from God in 1 Samuel 23:2, “Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”. 
The Lord said to David, “…Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” The warrior Men with David were not encouraged to go with him against the Philistines, but his responsibility to inquire from God was the assurance for victory against Philistines.
Responsibility is to ask for the direction that is certain to arrive at the expected end of the journey. 
MEDITATING THE WORD OF GOD
One meditating on the word of God will know God by observing the word of God to live a life of responsibility before God.
After the death of Moses, God called Joshua to the importance of meditating His word, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) 
Meditating the word of God day and night is continual communication with God to know, to do according to the word of God.
1Timothy 4:1 records the importance of meditating on the word of God, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”  
Psalm 119:15 also records, “I will meditate on Your precepts and contemplate Your ways.” 
Be responsible by meditating on the word of God to experience failure impossible in life. 
Get to Know God by studying the word of God, not skimming through the word of God.
COMMITMENT TO THE WORD OF GOD
Responsibility is a life of commitment to the word of God.
One with a commitment to the word of God will have the word of God in the heart, not just in the mouth.
Are you a believer by mouth? 
Giving to commitment to God will consign self to seeking God with all heart, with all soul, with all strength. 
Deuteronomy 4:29 records the consequence of being responsible for seeking God, “…you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 
One responsible with the responsibility of commitment to the word of God will not be discouraged by the surrounding world not to seek God diligently but find God.

Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled to live a life of responsibility to the glory of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you looking up to God or looking outside of God?

Exodus 14

The Psalmist knows to be looking up to God. 
Psalm 119:132 records, “Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.”
One that looks up to God will know to call for God to look upon self.
Looking up to God is waiting on God.
God acts to wait for those that wait on Him. 
Are you looking up to God or looking outside of God for His intervention?
One that does not wait on God will be living life in worrying.
To become worried and troubled in the face of challenge is the evidence of not worshiping God.
One that looks at confronting challenges shall misplace focus on God for His divine intervention. 
The Israelites looked away from God in the confronting challenge.
Exodus 14:10-12 records: “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said 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.” 
Do the verses above speak to you? 
The miracle of God brought the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt but fear of the enemy took over the Israelites.
The Israelites were worried and troubled to confess negatively.
Solution for challenges demands to focus on God. 
Are you focusing on God?
Despite all the powerful teachings of Jesus against fear and worrying, the disciples locked themselves up in fear of the Jews. 
John 20:19 records, “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 
While the disciples were locked in fear, Jesus showed up and declared peace.
Faith in Jesus will give peace in the place of trouble for those who keep the focus on Him. 
Jesus had spoken peace, “…He showed them His hands and His side. then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20) Seeing the mark opened up the disciples to come out of fear. 
To believe is to see crucifixion the marks were registered on Jesus for all to have life abundantly.
Ignore the fear that is going on around the world.
Get to know that looking up to God is enough for deliverance and preservation of the wicked world.

Prayer for today: Ask not to be a victim of the fear of the wicked world.