FAITH CAPSULE: The gift of God is a permanent gift that is irrevocable.

John 4:1-45

Jesus is the gift of God in place not to miss eternal life.
One that receives and unwrapped the gift of God set for eternal life.
The gift of God for all is not seasonal but for all seasons. 
The gift of God is a permanent gift that is irrevocable.
Jesus introduced Himself to the woman of Samaria that does not know Him, “…If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) Jesus is the GIFT of God for all. Romans 6:23 buttresses, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus is the gift of God.
He is to be received and unwrapped by all, living life for God, seeking God diligently. 
One who receives and unwraps the gift of God is the one who embraces the gift of eternal life.
How are you living life for God? 
Are you well-rooted in God, walking before God, standing for God like a tree with fruit ready to produce for God in all seasons? 
The gift of God to all is for all to receive and be in the position of giving back to God.
Jesus, the creator of the fig tree, expected fruit, but the fig tree had no fruit for its creator in all seasons. 
Bible records, “Now the next day when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again…” (Mark 11:12-14)
The fig tree was with leaves but could not declare fruit for its creator. 
Are you a decorated believer like a fig tree?
Seasonally available fruit before God is not what God wants for all.
Word of God warned against the seasonal believer as stated, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
Before God, a seasonal believer is not living life for God.
A seasonal believer has a lack of knowledge and does not know God.
Are you a seasonal believer who is decorated with the world but not decorated by the word of God?
Do not deceive yourself, but give yourself to God.
Live life for God, seek Him diligently, and fear God to obey Him according to His word.
Come out of a seasonal religion, not of Christ, and embrace the gift of God of all seasons.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to live life for Him in all seasons.

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not be trapped on the right track.

John 5:1-23

To be trapped on the right track is not the will of God for His creation.
The Bible records a man who had an infirmity of thirty-eight years.
The man with infirmity was on the right track to gain healing but was trapped.
John 5:1-4 describes the track where healing was in place for the infirmity, “the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.”
The infirmity man of thirty-eight years trapped on the right track of where to gain healing.
By the mercy of God, Jesus saw him lying and knew that he had been in that condition for a long time.
He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6)
The mercy of God called the attention of the man with infirmity.
Mercy belongs to God.
Romans 9:15 testifies to God, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
The man with infirmity answered the calling of Jesus, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:7)
The stagnation of the man with infirmity was rooted in looking outside God for help.
Who are you looking at for intervention to your challenge?
Watching and praying is a way to pray to God and engage the presence of God.
Jesus spoke to the infirmity man, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” (John 5:8)
John 5:9, “And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.”
The healing word of God sounded in the direction of the sick man, and he rose immediately.
Believe that every trap in your life that you know or do not know shall experience the visitation of God, that stagnation be converted motion to the glory of God.
By the mercy of God, Jesus saw him lying and knew that he had been in that condition for a long time.
Mercy belongs to God.
God will have mercy on who He chooses to have mercy on.
However, the mercy of God is attainable when one asks or pleads for His mercy.
Job is a blameless and upright man before God demonstrates the need to plead before God: “For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge” (Job 9:15). 
Prayer for today: Ask that God will have mercy over you.
Ask that every area of stagnation, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, become converted to motion, to the glory of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: The multitude discourages you, delays you, and denies you from moving forward or rising above challenges.

Luke 19:1-27

Multitude/crowd answers as the agent of hindrance in life.
The multitude/crowd is the agent, a hindrance to getting one stagnated and not arriving at the destination.
What role does the multitude/crowd have in your life? 
Multitude could be a hindrance.
If a multitude is allowed in life, it will prevent one from arriving at the calling of God or to a divine destination.
The multitude will ridicule, discourage you, delay you, and deny you from moving forward or rising above challenges.
One that fails to recognize the representative of a multitude is bound to experience stagnation, the cause of mockery.
To study the story of Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus is to learn from breaking hindrances of the multitude that frequently denies one.
Zacchaeus experienced the case of the multitude as a hindrance
Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was short in stature, and a physical limitation of his was in place to deny him from inviting Jesus into his home. Zacchaeus recognized his limitation but rejected it as an excuse not to seek Jesus diligently for his desire.
Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd because he wanted to see Jesus. 
He was not attempting to join the crowd in knowing about Jesus. 
He wanted to know Jesus.
Zacchaeus wanted to receive Jesus into his house. 
Zacchaeus recognized that there was a need for him to do more than run to see Jesus.
Zacchaeus had to climb a tree to see and receive Jesus. 
What are your efforts to see and be able to receive Jesus? 
Your pastor knowing you and going to church once a week or sleeping in the church is not enough to overcome the crowd in the world of today. 
Luke 19:4-6 records the effort of Zacchaeus to deny the multitude against him not to see and receive Jesus into his house, “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So, he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.” 
By running ahead with efforts to see and receive, the hindrance will devise other means to deny victory.
Despite the running and effort to overcome the hindrance of the multitude, a complaint was in place against him but Jesus said, “…He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” (Luke 19:7)
Jesus saw the diligence of a sinner to see Him.
Can you imagine a man of short stature climbing a tree to see and receive Jesus into his house?
The multitude (crowd) could not hinder Zacchaeus from seeing and receiving Jesus into his life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you not to become a victim of a hindrance.

FAITH CAPSULE: Meditating on the word of God will enable knowing God more.

Joshua 1

Gaining to retain the presence of God is possible when meditating on the word of God.
Meditating on the word of God is continual communication with God.
Be able to know and do the following:
KNOW NOT TO LIVE A LIFE OF A LIAR
To adopt twisting the truth of God will become convinced that lying can make a way where there is no way. 
Do you know that twisting the truth of God is evidence of taking distance from God?
Twisting the truth of God will keep one far from God, to become set for evil. Psalm 56:5 testifies, “All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.” Are you one with no means of controlling yourself from unwarranted talking, taking you to a route of twisting the word of God? Pray not to live the life of a liar.
KNOW TO PRAY FOR THE HAND OF GOD OVER YOU
The book of Ezra repeatedly testifies to the hand of God over the Israelites through the journey of life. Ezra 8:31 states, “…And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.” In your life journey today and in days to come, desire for the hand of God to come upon you. 
In the hand of God, there is an answer for deliverance and preservation. Prayerfully, continually, know to ask for the hand of God. The Lord God is not partial. Ask, and His hand shall answer for you.
KNOW TO CALL ON GOD TO REVIVE YOU
To become revived is to experience renewal with strength, to become energized, to be active, and not be denied to live life to the glory of God.
In life, to become revived by God will enhance one physically, spiritually, and emotionally. 
The Psalmist asks God: “Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.” (Psalm 119:88)
The key to it all is to become REVIVED by GOD. 
Is it your desire to be revived by God?
With the desire, ask God to revive you just as the psalmist did.
KNOW TO BE RESPONSIBLE BY ASKING DIRECTIONS FROM GOD 
Be responsible, and seek the perfect way of God.
Responsibly, the venture of David to save Keilah from the Philistines is the reason 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 assured victory against the Philistines. It is a responsibility to ask for directions to arrive at the expected end of the journey.

Prayer for today: Ask that the word of God to meditate will gain entrance into your heart.

FAITH CAPSULE: Trust and hope will provoke the blessing of deliverance.

Psalm 34

Psalm 34:19 records to encourage against challenging trouble, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”  Answering as a righteous one is not a ticket not to experience the challenges of this world.
However, God delivers in all.
King David identifies four points for His deliverance.
DAVID ACKNOWLEDGED GOD
Despite increasing challenges, David acknowledged the awesomeness of God, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts my head.” (Psalm 3:3) 
David, in times of his challenging trouble, his worshiping of God was not distracted.
David gave himself to worshiping God instead of worrying over his challenging troubles. He acknowledged God for all He has done over his life.
Acknowledging God in a troubling challenge shall provoke the intervention of the deliverance of God.
Acknowledging God in a challenging time is a self-deliverance to overcome.
DAVID CRIED TO GOD
David cried out to God alone, not to a man
Crying out to God will not elude one from God but will receive the attention of God for self-deliverance in times of Challenging trouble.
David testifies, “I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:4) 
Crying is not a sign of weakness but a way of getting the attention of God.
Often, pride will deny one from crying out before God, but David cried out to God with no spirit of pride.
The evidence of crying out before God with a voice is a cry from the depth of heart as David testifies. 
Crying out before God with a wide-open mouth should be with the expectation to become filled with manifestation. 
David testifies that the Lord heard him from His holy hill.
DAVID GAVE THE TESTIMONY OF TRUST AND HOPE  
The Bible records testimonies of David, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” (Psalm 3:5) 
In a time of challenging trouble, David hoped to sleep and not lose his sleep in the face of his life challenge.
Trusting God at the onset of challenging trouble but not having hope in God can deny the testimony of deliverance. With understanding, David was with trust and hope.
Jeremiah 17:7 testifies to trust and hope, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”
David laid and went to sleep in a challenging time just as Jesus lay and slept in His time of challenging trouble of the storm at His cross-over journey. (Mark 4:35-41) 
To gain victory in a time of challenge, have trust and hope in God.
Meditates on Psalm 34:19 to remain encouraged in challenging trouble, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
God is a good God that delivers at all times in all challenges.

Prayer for today: Ask for the hand of God to become established over your life.