FAITH CAPSULE: Looking away from God is an avenue to fail.

1 Samuel 13

In times of challenge, looking away from God is not to behold the challenges at hand.
To look away from God is evidence of forgetting God, in all His testimonies.
The children of Israel came out of the bondage of over four hundred years by the hand of God.
As the Israelites progressed from bondage to the Promised Land, challenges of Egypt pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea.
With no way of escape for the Israelites, “…the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptian marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.” (Exodus 14:10)
Looking away from God is beholding an enemy, allowing fear to take over.
Looking away from God is forgetting and not remembering what God has done and is doing.
Beholding challenges instead of beholding God is taking the route outside of His promise.
Looking away from God is not giving attention to God.
King Saul looked away from the hand of God upon his life as he staggered into self-destruction.
In the face of challenging war against the Philistines, Saul failed to wait for Samuel, for the burnt offering.
The given excuse of Saul for violating the burnt offering was recorded in 1 Samuel 13:11, “…When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore, I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” Saul was appointed as King, but Saul forgot the mercy of God and rebelled against the word of God.
Saul looked away from God to people scattered from him.
What or who are you looking at?
Looking away from God is an assured route to failure.
Man will fail, but God is forever faithful to wait and act for those who wait on Him.
In life, all should know indeed that whatever one beholds, which generates fear, shall lock down from rising.
Three friends were sentenced to burn in the burning fire (Daniel 3:23)
By the intervention of the deliverance of God, the burning could not bury the three friends by the fire.
The three friends turned to God, and the hand of God answered for their deliverance.
The flame and the agent of generating flame were consumed by their flame.
The three friends of Daniel walked out of the burning fire without any stain or smell of the fire.
God is still in the business of undeniable miracles if we do not look away from God.
Today, set eyes on God and see the salvation of God, which will answer for you today.

Prayer for today: Ask for the hand of God against all that represents Pharaoh in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: In this wicked world, do not embrace lies; it is a way of termination.

1 Kings 22

Truth does not lie.
Truth is always a threat to deceivers and those who tell lies.
Jesus declared, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6)
To walk in truth in this life is the evidence of being led by the truth.
Bible buttressed the importance of being led by truth, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:5)
“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me…” (Psalm 43:3)
In this wicked world, truth is very hated.
Among the fellowship of liars, deception and manipulation, truth is a threat.
In this wicked world, those who do not embrace truth engage in lies, which is rooted in devi.
Jesus referred to a liar, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Do you have hatred for God’s message in your direction?
Any acclaimed believer who hates never makes headway, and the longer they hold onto hatred, the closer they are to their self-destruction.
Just as a believer cannot get away with hatred, an unbeliever will also fall for hating.
Ahab, king of Israel, approached war with Syria to take over Ramoth Gilead.
Ahab requested that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, go with him to fight at Ramoth Gilead. (1 Kings 22:4)
Jehoshaphat requested that Ahab inquire of the word of the Lord.
Ahab agreed and gathered four hundred prophets to inquire.
God inquired, and Ahab got the message that God would deliver Syria into his hands.
Unfortunately, the message of the prophets was not truthful. Jehoshaphat requested a clearer message from any available prophet in the land.
Ahab responded to the request of Jehoshaphat, “…There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.’ And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say such things!’”(1Kings22:8) Ahab confessed his hatred for Micaiah, a prophet of God.
The reason for Ahab’s hatred was his dislike for truth.
Prophet Micaiah prophesied, “…I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’” (1 Kings 22:17)
The Prophet of God gave a true message, but the four hundred prophets of Ahab delivered untruth.
Hate in King Ahab towards Micaiah denied him the right to respond to the truthful warning signs.
Ahab went to war and did not return.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from every representation of the agent of the liar.

FAITH CAPSULE: Whatever is laid down at His feet shall be laid to rest.

Matthew 15:21-31

There is healing at His feet for anyone who will recognize Him.
His feet should not be mistaken for a place for spectators with no expectation.
At His feet, there is healing and deliverance.  
Whatever is laid down at His feet shall be laid to rest.
What do you carry that needs to be separated from you?
He is nearer to you than you know.
One who seeks Him diligently will find Him.
Jairus demonstrates a need by finding a place at the feet of need.
Mark 5:22-23 records, “Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
Before healing was possible, Jairus came with the expectation, but not to be entertained.
Jairus came and fell at the feet of Jesus.
He begged earnestly, but not to exercise the excessive power of his position.
Jesus delivered the answer to the request of Jesus while he was at the feet of Jesus.
Jesus identified a good place to be when Martha and Mary approached Him.
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  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 not 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.”(Luke 10:38-42)
Mary sat at the feet.
Where in Jesus are you positioning yourself?
Take a position at the feet of Jesus, just as Mary did.
Make the feet of Jesus your choice.
At His feet, take to the word of God.
At His feet, do not give regard to any distraction, pay no attention to spectators, but seek His healing word.
Great multitudes came to His feet to receive healing by taking position at His feet.
Matthew 15:30recorded, “Then great multitudes came to Him having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.”
Who have you been seeking for your healing and deliverance?
Today, lying, deception, and manipulation exist at every corner in the city and outside.
Seeking His feet diligently is not giving oneself to wrong to find Him.
Whatever you lay down at His feet shall be laid to rest.

Prayer for today: Ask that you will gain direction at His feet.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you living without satisfaction?

1 Samuel 8

To have life without living in satisfaction, one is bound to experience an evil agenda.
Are you living without satisfaction?
Satisfaction is crucial to living life for the glory of God.
God knows better; He knows what is good in His giving.
What are you asking God?
With fair honesty, God does not own a single soul.
In all creation, God has invested in the lives of all with abundance, but the cry of dissatisfaction is loud all over.
God, in His goodness and mercy, gave His beloved son to give life abundantly for all.
For anyone who believes in His beloved son, such shall have life abundantly.
God gave satisfaction to all.
God is still giving unstoppably.
Jesus, the gift of God to all states, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Distraction will prevent one from living life abundantly.
One without satisfaction does not know how to live by the promise of God.
Be satisfied with the gift of God to avoid looking into what is in the hands of others.
The Israelites looked at their neighbours in comparison to what God had given them.
The Israelites demonstrated a lack of satisfaction.
God gave the children of Israel judges to rule over them as a nation, while the neighboring nations had kings.
Seeing this, the children of Israel wanted to have a king and be like neighboring nations.
The Israelites approached Samuel the prophet and judge of Israel,
“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. (1 Samuel 8:4-6)
The Israelites requested a king like their neighboring nations.
Are you looking into the portion of your neighbor rather than looking up to God with thanksgiving for the gift in your life?
Through Samuel, God responded to the Israelites, “And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:7-9)
Why or what is the reason you are looking into the gift of God to your neighbor?

Payer for today: Ask against dissatisfaction not to have a place in you.

FAITH CAPSULE: The increase of God in the life of one will gain the attention of the enemy.

Exodus 1

Life is full of ups and downs.
Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not a guarantee.
In life, there is no permanent condition.
God alone is permanent.
Power belongs to God.
When God increases, no one can reduce.
When God increases the life of one, an enemy will attempt to reduce it, but will fail.
The Bible records after the death of Joseph, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” (Exodus 1:8-10)
Suddenly, the children of Israel became a threat to the new King of Egypt.
The blessings of the Israelites were the reason for the fear of the king of Egypt.
God blessed the Egyptians with an increase while the enemy attempted to reduce them.
Does this sound like your situation?
The increase of God will always entice the enemy to reduce it.The increase in the growth of the children of Israel gave the Egyptians attention with a wicked agenda as recorded in Exodus 1:13-14, “the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.”
God is never asleep nor slumbering in His caring for His children.
God is a God who waits to act for His children who wait on Him.
God will act to deliver one who waits for God.
When God blesses, He adds no sorrow. (Proverbs 10:22)
God moved concerning the children of Israel when He heard their cry.
Despite the cries of the Israelites, the new king of Egypt did not stop at making life miserable for the children of Israel.
King went further and issued a command to kill every newborn son of the children of Israel.
Pharaoh meant evil with the attempt to terminate the children of Israel because of their growth.
The Pharaoh did not know that power belonged to God.
Have you specifically asked God concerning all that is causing you pain? With God, it is never too much or too late to cry out to God for deliverance.
Count on God, not on man, as the word encouraged, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)  Are you willing to see God terminate all that represents Pharaoh that is hunting your life?

Prayer for today: Asking God that every agent of the wicked in your life shall encounter permanent termination.