FAITH CAPSULE: Wasted life is in turning back.

John 21

Before the time Peter and some of the disciples gave up all and followed Jesus, they were professional fishermen. 
Matthew 4:18-20 records, “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 
The called ones immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. 
Peter and his fellow fishermen followed Jesus to the time He went to the cross.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, new developments came into play. “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:2-3) 
Have you received and believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus? For everyone who has received and believed in Jesus, there should be no going back to the past. 
Simon Peter suggested to other disciples to turn back to go fishing.
To give life to God is to put the past behind and allow Him to lead and direct. 
The disciples returned to their occupation and toiled all night with nothing to show for. 
The disciples caught no fish all night. 
John21:4-5 records, “But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”  
The disciples returned to business as usual and did not recognize Jesus. Turning away from following Him will always lead to emptiness. 
Just like the disciples, Jesus is what all need to have in full and not be empty in any area of life. 
Turning away after following Him will turn one into a life of waste. 
Jesus intervened in their situation and made it a great testimony when He commanded, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” (John 21:6) 
After accepting Jesus, returning to your former lifestyle is a choice that will complicate destiny. 
Before Jesus came with them on the boat, the disciples did not have a testimony, but when Jesus showed, they had a great testimony. 
John 21:11 records, “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.” 
If you have received and believed the report of His resurrection, there should be no turning back to the former lifestyle. 

Prayer for today: Ask you to be enabled going forward, not turning back in answering to the calling of God.

Faith Capsule: Do you have a place for the word to gain and remain in you?

Exodus 15

John 1:1 record, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”
Jesus is the word of God.
The word of Jesus states, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” (Revelation 3:20)
Will you allow the word to gain entrance into you?
The Psalmist informs, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130) 
Jesus, the living word of God, spoke, “…I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 
Without the word gaining entrance, there will be no following Him.
Jesus is the word of God. 
Do you have a place for the word to gain and remain in you? 
Jesus states in His word, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) 
When His joy remains in one to fill such, it becomes evident that such shall be a vessel that carries the presence of God. 
The presence of God will provoke the joy of the Lord.
The joy that is not triggered by what is in the physical is only in the word. 
The joy Jesus spoke to all is about believing God for what He has spoken regardless of the challenges brought by the world. 
Habakkuk 3:17-18 records, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” 
The word of Habakkuk buttresses the need to remain joyful in the face of daunting challenges.
A failure not to remain joyful is not allowing the entrance of the word of God.
For example, where there is no joy, complaining can be activated.
Complain is the source of rebellion. 
The Israelites saw the mighty act of God when they were coming out of the bondage of over four hundred years.
The joy of God is supposed to keep them going regardless of challenges. 
However, when they came out of the Red Sea, they needed water but were quick to complain because they were not full of joy. 
Exodus 15:23-24 states, “…when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”  
Joy was not in the Israelites, and they were quick to complain.
After their complaint, they came to Elim, where they had enough water. (Exodus 15:27) 
Always allow His spoken word to remain in you, activating the joy of the Lord. 

Prayer for today: Ask that you will allow the word of God inside of you. 

Faith Capsule: Insist, persist, and resist all that hinders receiving from Him. 

Matthew 7

What God says He will do is a done deal.
The done deal by God is for anyone who knows to engage His word faithfully. 
God is the Creative creator that does not lie in His word. 
Psalmist testifies:
Psalm 18:30, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”  
Proverbs 30:8 states, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” 
The book of Hebrews 12:4 buttresses, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” 
God was so sure about how His word was authentic. 
Isaiah 55:11 records, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  
The scriptural verses above record the evidence not to fail to trust and hope in God.
The question is: Why is it difficult to abstain from giving self to the world instead of the word of God? 
Are you facing any challenges denying trust and hope in God?
Knowing to ask, seek, and knock for the presence of God is undeniable by God.
The book of Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” 
Have you been asking or assuming? 
There is a difference between asking and assuming that Jesus knows. Asking is a demonstration of faith. Bartimaeus cried out to gain the attention of Jesus despite the thronging crowd but did not ask what exactly he wanted from Jesus. 
Jesus knows all but wants all to ask. 
Have you been asking in the place of making noise? 
Jesus prompted the blind Bartimaeus to ask when He questioned him, “So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Luke 18:40-41) 
What do you want Jesus to do for you? 
Insist, persist, and resist all that hinders receiving from Him. 

Prayer for today: Ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Run the race of accomplishment before God.

1 John 2:1-6

Going to church every Sunday, going from prayer meeting to prayer meeting to Bible study, is not a ticket to heaven. 
In living life, how have you been following Him? 
Think within yourself how you have been following Him. 
One following Christ is not the evidence of following through the rules of running the track. 
One can be on the right track and be trapped.
Life is a journey.
To be living life can be compared to running a race on a race track. 
Running on a race track must keep up with the rules not to violate.
Every acclaimed believer on the race track of life who fails to follow the rules of running a race on the track of life is trapped. 
1 Corinthians 9:24 records, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” The ones who run to receive the prize are the ones who get to the expected end. 
Running the race of life is about knowing to follow Christ, author and the finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)
What does it take to follow Him? 
Following Him is in knowing Him. 
It takes knowing Him and not knowing about Him to follow Him. 
Knowing the Lord is not in determination or in the strength of how one follows Him. 
Following Him is not in changing or running from one church to another. 
Knowing to follow Him is in consistent obedience to His word. 
The book of 1 John 2:3-4 expressly states what it means to follow Him, “Now by this, we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this, we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.’” 
If one has been keeping His commandments, one must be clean from all walks of life that do not represent Him. 
Those engaging in lies, deception, and manipulation are the ones with the marks of this world. 
Run the race of life according to the rules of running the race. 
God is able.
God can carry one through the race. 
Do you desire to run through and not miss the mark? 
Ask God to enable you to run the race of accomplishment before Him.
God will make you just as the potter makes and remakes his clay.  

Prayer for today: Ask God to redirect you continually so that you may run the race of life and not miss getting to the expected end. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Faith is acting out before God to gain His attention.

Mark 2:1-12

God is a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24 confirms, “For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” 
Know that the antidote for jealousy is attention.
Are you giving God the kind of attention enough to provoke the hand of God over your life? 
How is your action communicating your desire to gain the attention of God?
A wise statement, “Action speaks louder than a voice.”
The story of Hannah testifies to the truth that action speaks louder than voice.
Hannah was barren because the Lord closed her womb. (2 Samuel 1:5) During one of her trips to Shiloh, her action caught the attention of Eli. The Bible records, “And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.” (1 Samuel 1:12-13)  
The action of Hannah called for the attention of Eli.
Eli responded with prayer for Hannah by calling on God on her behalf to open up her womb. 
Are you looking up to God for an open door?
Matthew 7:7-8 speaks to all, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” 
Action speaks before God to gain the attention of God.
2 Samuel 2:3 confirms, “For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him, actions are weighed.”
Gaining the attention of God is not in how loud to communicate in prayer. (This is saying it is wrong to pray out loud) 
Calling on God is encased in how the heart connects with God. 
Hannah spoke in her heart, and God heard the cry. 
Are you speaking from the mouth to impress?
Action is seeable, the evidence of having faith. 
Faith is acting out the word of God, and God will hear.
Once, Jesus reacted to the action of a paralytic man who came to Jesus tearing through the roof for healing. 
Mark 2:5 records, “When Jesus saw their faith; He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5). Jesus saw the faith. Undeniably, faith is what is seeable because faith is an action. 
The response of Jesus to the faith of the paralytic man is called action. The action is a faith demonstration that testifies that God sees faith.
Keep the testimonies in the word of God. 
Keeping the testimonies of God will add to the blessings of God. 
The psalmist admonishes, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2) One that keeps His testimony will know to be persistent by giving God all the attention. 
Give God all your attention for God to attend to you.

Prayer for today: Ask to be enabled to live life by His word.