FAITH CAPSULE: Know to be near to God always.

Psalm 145

How far are you from God?
God is never far but near to all, while the majority are far from Him. 
One who is far from God cannot find God.
Are you conscious of being far from God?
God is not far from His creation, but sin draws one far from God.
One who meditates on the word of God is in communication with God, the character one near to God.
Also, one who keeps the doings of God takes the position to gain the blessing of God.
MEDITATING THE WORD OF GOD 
The word of God is God. 
Meditating on the word of God is communicating with God as a way of life.
God did not hide the secret of meditation when He spoke to Joshua, “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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9) 
With desire, meditate on the word of God continually and be near to God.
The word of God is proven.
The word of God is perfect to all who will give themselves to meditating to gain and retain a position near Him day and night.
TESTIMONIES OF GOD
Draw near to God by testifying to His goodness.
Understanding the testimonies of God, to provoke the nearness of God.
Psalm 119:1-6 buttressed what it means to walk and keep testimonies of God, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!  Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.
You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.
Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!
Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments.”
Keep the testimonies of God by walking by His word.
The blessings of God are for those near to God and who know to fear Him.
Do you fear God?
If you are one with the fear of God, you are obedient to Him and near to claim his promises.
With understanding, know to fear God, the will for all as Deuteronomy 6:24-25 states, “And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.”
To fear God, keep His testimonies, to walk by His word.  

Prayer for today: Ask God to take charge of your life and be near Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: The word of God is secret to those who do not know God.

Proverbs 6

Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God.
Knowing about God is the character of one who has the word of God in the mouth but not in the heart.
Knowing God is engaging the word of God to be kept by the word of God, not the world.
To the world, the word of God is like a story to those who know about but do not know God.
The word of God is secret to those who do not know God.
The secret of God does not hide from those who know Him.
Knowing about God is not enough, but knowing God counts.
Do you know God or do you know about God?
Many who dwell in the secret place of God and do not abide in the secret (word) place of God are the same as those who know about God and do not live for God.
However, those who dwell and abide in the secret place of God are those who know God.
It is the right way to dwell and abide in the secret place of God.
Engaging the word of God and not keeping it will fail one on the journey through this wicked world.
Among the marked identities in the lives of those who keep the word of God, rooted in ones not doing against what God does not want from all.”
Proverbs 3:29-31 states what God does not want, “Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety’s sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.”
Keep the word of God by answering God to gain His attention.
Keeping the word of God will provoke experiencing to be kept by God.
Keeping the word of God keeps one from experiencing the curse of God, which is on the house of the wicked.
The just and humble ones keep the word of God.
Evidently, to keep the word of God is to be kept from experiencing shame. (Proverbs 3:32-35)
Isaiah 55:11 records, “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.”
God honors His word beyond the imagination of all.
God, do not deceive; do not be deceived by any force that is against the word of God.
Truly engage the word of God that is alive to keep because, “When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep, they will keep you; and when you awake, they will speak with you.” (Proverbs 6:22)
Knowing God is to keep the word of God by binding the word of God continually upon the heart to have life more abundantly in this wicked world of darkness.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to know God, not just about God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Serving God is worshiping God.  

Genesis 32

The will of God is for all to live life for God.
The word of God specifically wants all to exist for Him. (Revelation 4:11)
God creates all, and all to live for Him.
Who has the right to question God about what He wants for His creation?
God alone is a jealous God.
The antidote to jealousy is attention.
The will of God for man is to serve God.
God called the Israelites out of bondage to serve Him as it is written, “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12)
Serving God is worshiping God.
Worshipping God is to be separated to God.
Understanding the love for God will strengthen one to serve God.
However, those who separate themselves to worship God will definitely abide in God.
The book of 1 John 2:15-17  buttresses, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
One separated from all sources of distraction will be a worshipper of God.
Seeking (worshipping) God demands all being.
The reward of worshipping, seeking God diligently, shall be rewarded because He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently. (Hebrews 11:6)
To be separated is a sacrifice.
Abraham separated himself to answer the word of God.
The calling of God for Abraham to depart from his country and his family to a land unknown to him. (Genesis 12:1-2) The calling of God was a call of sacrifice to seek God.
Abraham was accounted to him for righteousness because it was evidence that he believed God. (Romans 4:3)
When a man responds to the word of God by denying self-engagement, it is a demonstration of seeking God.
Worshipping God is separation, seeking God.
Abraham, Jacob encountered a divine assignment; he separated from his family and all his possessions. Genesis 32:22-24 records, “And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.”
Until Jacob separated from all, God did not engage him for his name change to Israel.
Jacob was separated, and God enabled him to live in the center of his life assignment.
Be separated to God; live life for God, be fully established for His glory.

Prayer for today: Ask that the goodness of God shall answer over your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: One who abides in the word of God shall prevail.

John 15

The word of God is God. (John 1:1)
The word of God is encouraging to live by.
To live by the word of God is the price of deliverance and preservation.
The word of God makes all to know, stating, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 103:20)
To live by the word of God can be challenging when the storm of the world continually rises higher and higher.
One who abides in the word of God shall prevail.
Abide can be described as remaining or continuing to abide in Jesus despite a particular situation. Furthermore, to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding but submitting to Jesus describes to abide. Abiding in Jesus also means accepting conditions without questioning His authority.
Abiding in Jesus demands an uncommon sacrifice. Above all, to remain steadfast or faithful means to abide.
Above, the meaning of abiding in Him is above.
Understanding abiding in the word is complete to be dwelling in the word of God.
Psalm 91:1 encourages, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Dwelling and abiding in the word of God is the character of one who trusts and hopes in God.
One who trusts and hopes in God shall provoke the blessing of God.
Jeremiah 17:7 encourages, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”
With all the descriptions above, to abide indeed and in truth will build up a believer in God.
A believer should live by the word of God.
Apostle Paul encourages, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)
To abide in the word of God is to be connected with Jesus.
However, connection with Jesus should not be a mouth demonstration; it should be of the heart.
One to be of the heart is bound with manifestation, bearing fruit to the glory of God.
Jesus declared, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Jesus is the true vine for all to abide.
Take note of two kinds of VINES, which are: True vine (Jesus is the true vine); False vine is the opposite of true vine.

Prayer for today: Ask for the hand of God to keep your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: To be steadfast is not a self-satisfying engagement

Luke 5

Follow the commanding word of God, wholly follow God fully.
Following God demands to be steadfast.
To be steadfast is not a self-satisfying engagement but can be full of pain, a self-discipline, to live for God.
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to be steadfast before God?
To be steadfast before God is rooted in having faith.
A Christian faith embodies a profound commitment to God, marked by unwavering trust and loyalty to God regardless of the challenges.
It transcends mere persistence; it is a heart posture that acknowledges the sovereignty and promises, even when circumstances seem bleak.
This deep-rooted assurance empowers believers to stand firm in their convictions, often reflecting the resilience demonstrated by Job, Daniel, and Paul, who faced trials yet remained anchored in their faith.
Without doubt, steadfastness is a character that remains anchored in having faith in God.
The determination will not be enough to be steadfast before God without having the desire to live for God.
For example, King David wanted to be steadfast before God by asking God, Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
A steadfast spirit before God was demonstrated by Caleb and Joshua.
Caleb and Joshua refused the negative confession about the Promised Land.
The testimony of Caleb and Joshua provoked the declaration of God, stating, “My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24)
Those who follow the commanding word of God wholly follow God fully.
Elisha steadfastly gave himself to God.
At the calling of Elisha, through Elijah, “…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?’  So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.” (1 Kings 19:20-21)
Elisha left all behind when he answered the calling of God.
In answering, Elisha demonstrated steadfastness; He emptied himself by getting rid of material that could have held him back.
Elisha used his equipment as a boiler to boil his slaughtered oxen. Whatever man cannot forsake for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is what will cause Heaven to forsake such from becoming a qualified candidate for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Become emptied of all that is possible to deny self to find God.
Forsake all that is not of God, for your calling be established.
Be steadfast in following the word of God fully to be rewarded by God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to live a steadfast life before Him for His glory.