FAITH CAPSULE: 

John 20

Jesus is alive, and He lives and reigns forever.
John 20:1-2 records, “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” 
Mary Magdalene was the first to announce the disappearance of the body of Jesus from the grave. 
The same Mary whom Jesus healed from the possession of evil spirits was the first one at the grave that could not hold.
The crucifixion of Jesus meant a great deal to her. 
After the resurrection of Jesus, Mary was in place to recognize Jesus but could not recognize Jesus. 
She mistook Him for a gardener. 
Have you mistaken Jesus for you by the way you are living outside of His word?
The Bible records, “She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” (John 20:15) 
How can one who saw Jesus in the physical and was not able to recognize Jesus after the resurrection? 
Believe and receive that Jesus is alive and will live and reign forever.
Mary Magdalene was with sorrow. 
Mary Magdalene was so sure of Jesus but did not have what it takes to recognize Him. 
Does that sound like you in a time of grave challenge? 
Luke 21:13-16 records, “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.” 
One who knows Jesus in His physical is not evidence to know Him in the spirit.
Disciples walked with Him, but they had lost sight of their Savior. 
Is that you?
They knew Jesus well, but they did not know Him well enough to identify with Him at the point of visitation after he had resurrected from where the devil could not hold Him captive. 
Frustration occupied the two disciples, thinking their hope was gone. 
Are you experiencing frustration in any area of your life? 
Remind yourself that Jesus is not dead; He is a living God. 
When the two regained sight, it was time for Jesus to depart the presence of the two disciples. 
Luke 24:31, “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.” 
Your story does not have to be like the two disciples of Emmaus. 
Emmanuel was with them, yet they were far from Him. 
He has risen! 
Set your focus on Jesus to allow Him to have a place in your heart.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from the agent that blinds the minds of many.

FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus came for all not to miss heaven.

1 John 5

The challenges of today are not enough to tag life as difficult life.
Jesus came for all not to miss heaven.
John 10:10 testifies, “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.” 
Did you know all Jesus paid on the cross is not to miss heaven?
One who lives for Him is born of God.
1 John 5:4 records, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 
The world of wickedness has nothing better to offer but pain in every area of life. 
As an acclaimed believer, how do you engage the challenges? 
Are you one of those who call it difficult? 
Calling a challenge a name limits the life of Jesus, who went on the cross.
Are you born of God? 
One born of God, confessing that living life is difficult is a wrong and a negative confession. 
The word encourages us, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.”(Proverbs 4:23) 
As a believer, begin to confess positive in the place of negative.
Life can be challenging, but one can always overcome if one chooses the right way, not the way that seems right. 
There is a way to live life and to live it abundantly; there is a way to live life and to live it with challenges that will not overtake one. 
That way, one enters life by taking the steps matters not to fail.
Jesus has paid for the door opened for all that will live for His glory.
Jesus said, “I am the door, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”(John 10:9) 
Jesus is the truth to His word by stating if anyone enters by Him. 
There is no race requirement or color qualification before Him.
Why not try and enter through Jesus, who paid it all for all? 
Jesus warned in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, I have come that they may have it more abundantly.” 
It is time to take a moment to retrace steps to see if one is born of God. One born of God should prepare to overcome any challenge because He is fighting every challenging battle. 
Lift your eyes unto Him today and ask Him that His help on the cross shall established in your life.
He is a compassionate God, and He will have compassion for you. Remember, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)

Prayer for today: Ask for the word of God to have its place to reign and rule over your life.  

FAITH CAPSULE: Indeed, all His disciples forsook Him. 

Mark 15:1-32

Are you making noise as a believer yet living as a deceiver? 
Matthew 20:17-19 records, “Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”  
Exactly what He said happened to Him. 
Jesus knew beforehand that all His disciples would stumble and scatter at His arrest. 
Indeed, all His disciples forsook Him, as recorded in Matthew 26:56, “…Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” 
The disciples betrayed Him.
Today, the majority of believers are still betraying Jesus.
Nothing has changed. 
As an acclaimed believer, how are you betraying Jesus?
The Bible records, “Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” (Matthew 26:69-70) 
Peter betrayed Him by denying Him. 
Are you betraying Him by denying Him? 
Doing what He commanded not to do is evidence of denying Him. 
Peter blatantly denied Jesus three times to avoid suffering with Him. Every acclaimed believer wants to identify with Jesus, but none wants to suffer with Him or suffer just like He did. 
Are you making noise as a believer but yet living as a deceiver? 
Judas took his way of betraying Him to another level. 
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles. He was their treasurer. John 12:6 introduces the thievery of Judas by saying, “…as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.” 
Judas disclosed the whereabouts of Jesus to the chief priests and elders for 30 pieces of silver. 
Judas identified Jesus with a kiss and addressed Jesus as Master. 
As an acclaimed believer, how are you betraying Him? 
Is lying, deception, or manipulation your way of living life to betray Jesus? 
Do you have any openings that Satan could enter into? 
It does not matter who you are or how long you have been following Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Satan will attempt to gain entrance into man.
The route to becoming a betrayer is a failure not to watch and pray. 
Jesus warned, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation…” (Mark 14:38) 
The Bible mentions, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.”(Luke 22:3)    
One that enters into temptation because of lack of watching and praying takes a position of allowing Satan the tempter to enter. 
Are you an acclaimed believer who is watching and praying? 
Watch and pray; deny the tempter; do not end up as a betrayer.

Prayer for today: Ask God that you live shut against all that does not represent Him. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Looking away from God is the loss of focusing on God.

Exodus 14

The combination of worrying and being troubled will elevate to having fear. 
To become worried and troubled in the face of challenge is evidence of not looking up to God. 
When one keeps an eye on confronting challenges, focus not on God. 
Are you beholding your challenge, or are you looking up to God?
The Children of Israel were out of the bondage of over four hundred years with the promise of God to get them to the Promised Land.
However, the children of Israel failed to focus on God.
Failure to focus on God will result in the fear of the challenge. 
Exodus 14:10-12 documents, “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.” 
Does that sound like you? 
The children of Israelites should know that God does not fail in His word.
The Israelites were worried and troubled and confessed negatively.
The solution to challenges demands focusing on God and the word of His promise. 
Despite all the powerful teachings of Jesus against fear and worrying, the disciples went ahead and 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 they were locked up in fear, Jesus showed up and declared peace. 
To be looking up to Jesus is to gain the peace of God.
Faith in Jesus will cause peace to reign.  
After Jesus had spoken peace to His disciples, see the mark of crucifixion on Jesus. 
John 20:20 states, “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”  Seeing the mark opened up the disciples to come out of fear. 
If you begin to see the marks of crucifixion and believe that the marks were registered on Jesus for all to be able to have life abundantly, the fear about all that is going on around the world will not have its place in your life. 

Prayer for today: Ask the boldness and character to have a place in your life. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Deciding with the way of God leads to a successful ending.

Exodus 33

The book of Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” 
The way that seems right is potentially dangerous; the way that seems right is not a confirmed way.
The way that seems right does not always have life in its end but death. Avoiding a way that seems right is engaging the assured way of God. 
There is nothing to lose the way of God when praying to God for direction.
Deciding with the way of God leads to a successful ending. 
Continually go by the way of getting to a successful ending. 
It was clear that God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of the bondage of over four hundred years to the Promised Land, but it was not liberty for Moses to take his way. 
On the way, one should not just take any because not all ways will lead to an expected end. 
Despite the calling of God of Moses as the shepherd, he could not make a move without asking God for His way. 
He did not assume any way as being the right way. 
Moses always asked God for direction. 
The book of Exodus 33:13 documents, “Now therefore, I pray if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 
Just like Moses, anyone who asks for the way of the way of God shall demonstrate the ability to know God. 
The way of God is the way of going up from where you are now, but not down. 
In the way of God, there is an unfailing promise to be delivered. 
The way of God is the way out of bondage. 
The way of God delivers victory at all avenues of life. 
In the way of God, everything it takes not to be replaced by the enemy is in place. 
The only condition is to ask and know how to endure the challenges of the giants along the way. 
The failure to ask or to hear as directed is the avenue to self-destruction. God responded to the request of Moses for direction in Exodus 33:14, “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” The word of God is God.
His word is His presence. 
When you engage His word, His word will have a place in the life of one. You will be in the right place as you engage in your journey. 
Take to the word of God for direction. 

Prayer for today: Ask that you will know and constantly turn to Him for direction.
Ask God to deliver you from taking to the seems way to the right way.