“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

A Journey will take a course of route and a process of time, but those that trust the Lord through it all will have no regret at the end of their journey. Everyone under heaven are in a journey from the time they take their first breath. It is a journey that can be compared to that of the children of Israel coming out of bondage over four hundred years. It is a journey that is full of ups and downs; a journey that giants and Goliaths are set to upset every footing that is to be taken or that has been taken. God promised to take the children of Israel to the Promised Land but it will have to take a process of time. That process has to be consciously and consistently rested on trusting God. Trust is easier said than done among the believers and even non-believers. Trusting God is not to rush, but rather to rest on the promises of God that never fails. Trusting God in the absence of abundance can be challenging, and trusting God when time is absolutely not on our side can be exhausting. Trusting on God for a way where there is no pathway can be exceedingly stressful. However, in the journey of life and through the wilderness of life, the only way out to the expected end is rooted in trusting God to show up at every juncture where there is no sign for survival. Caleb and Joshua were the only survivors among the thousands Israelites who left Egypt going towards the Promised Land. Both Caleb and Joshua were able to survive because they saw hope where there was no hope. They remembered what the Lord had done and that provoked in them what the Lord was and is capable of doing. As a result of their conviction, they took an odd stand among their brethren who failed to see hope. Purpose in your heart today that it will not matter if you are the only one who takes a stand, even among thousands, on the promises of God to bring to manifestation the Word of His mouth. Caleb stated in Joshua 14:7, “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.” In these words of Caleb, it cannot be confused that trust is heart-activated and mouth-driven. If it is not rooted in the heart, it will not stand no matter how loud or consistent it is being voiced out. The people who went to spy the land with Caleb and Joshua failed to trust from the heart. Caleb testified, “Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God.” (Joshua 14:8) Trust will not only deliver needs, but it will also bring preservation. Because Caleb was able to trust, it became possible for him to wait and not waste in the promises of God. He was kept by God based on the level of his trust in what God can do. Joshua 14:10, “And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.” Caleb was able to testify to the grace of preservation because he trusted in God. There is no other way out to the expected end but only through trusting in God. Until trusting God graduates from your mouth to the heart, you are only operating in your own understanding. “…But he who put his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain.” (Isaiah 57:13) Caleb trusted God and he was able to posses his Promised Land When it was time for Caleb to inherit and possess all that the Lord had promised him, he was as strong as he was when the promise was made mention by God. After forty years, Caleb was so sure of his strength that he testified, “As yet I am strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both going out and coming in.” (Joshua 14:11) After forty years, nothing was on ground to rob Caleb of the Lord’s promise of blessing, neither was there any reason for him to receive what the Lord had for him in pain or grief. The word of God is true and His promises always come without sorrow. Has the Lord promised, but no fruition? He is a faithful God and He will never fail to deliver unless there is a failure in your receiving department. Play your part and God will do His part. Trust in the Lord.
 
“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool…”(Proverbs 28:26)
“…But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround them.” (Psalm 32:10)

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“And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum…” (Matthew 4:13)
 
Pray and ask God to take you to your Capernaum. Capernaum literally means Village of Nahum. Capernaum was the city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the place where Jesus moved to at the beginning of His ministry. Matthew 4:13, 17, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Nazareth was where Jesus grew up and when it was time for Him to begin His ministry, Jesus had to move out of Nazareth. Nazareth was in His beginning, but it wasn’t His end according to God‘s purpose. Have you been considering your place of growth as your route for direction? Has it become your comfort zone? Think of this: your place of growth might be your place of rejection and not of election. As much as Jesus was often referred to as Jesus Christ of Nazareth, He could not have started His ministry any other place better than Capernaum. Matthew 13: 54, “When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’” The Bible was talking about His coming to Nazareth where he grew up. Jesus’ teaching was too much for them to handle because truth is threatening and truth can also be bitter to taste or take in. “So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”(Matthew 13:57-58) Jesus, the One that was in the beginning, sees the end from the beginning. He left Nazareth for Capernaum for Him to get in tune with the Father. Nazareth was not the place for Him and Nazareth could have replaced His assignment for Him. Whether you like it or not, where you are disrespected, you will also be unappreciated for who you are or what you do. It is the anointing you appreciate that will work for you. They did not appreciate Jesus; they gave no honor to Him. The Bible testifies, “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” They did not appreciate the anointing in His life. However, it is the anointing that is appreciated that works for a believer. There is always a need to cue into the beginning so as to get started and continue as the Lord purposed it. Jesus’ arrival at Capernaum set in motion where He was going and, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ’Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17) The purpose and plan for every believer is to be preaching the news of the kingdom that is at hand. Any other business outside of it is on the side. When are you going to move to your Capernaum? The calling of God is not to be comfortable where you have been spending all your life, neither is it about continuing to do what you like, the calling of God is to move you to His ordain strategic location. When there is a failure to move, God will move you to a place that will set in motion His plan for your life. Jonah failed to move in God’s direction but God put him in a place where Jonah could respond to God’s plan. Jonah 1:17, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” You have two choices: take the Jonah’s road, or Jesus’ road. Jesus did many miracles in Capernaum, but it was evident in Jesus’ statement that few followed Him when He said in Matthew 11:23, “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to hades; for if the mighty works were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”
 ~Your journey’s end~
As a final note, Capernaum represented the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry because it was where he began His ministry, but it was not His final destination. Just as Capernaum wasn’t the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, so Capernaum is not the end of your journey. It is only the beginning, a starting ground that must be in place to get you to where He is taking you. Be sensitive to the move of the Spirit of God in your life and you will get to where He is taking you.
 
Pray before you plan and not plan before you pray
When you fail to take your plans to Him in prayer, your plans will fail to prevail.
‘Tunde

“Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon…” (2 Chronicles 20:22)

 Praise is identified in the Bible as what brings God to us, and us to God. Praise is a language of faith. If you have praise to offer, you have God. It is the cheapest way to get His attention. Psalm 47:7, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding” When understanding is applied to God’s Word, there will be a knowing-edge that brings forth a provocative and undeniable result. When you understand the fact that God is King and He is on the throne, praises that is rooted in the heart will be rendered unto Him so as to get into His presence. No wonder the Psalmist stated in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise…” Without doubt, there is no iota of lie, confusion or contradiction in the Bible except if the reader is confused who often contradicts him or herself. It is written in Psalm 22:3, “But you are holy, enthroned in the praise of Israel.” With a clear understanding that God inhabits the praises of His people, will you not consider that God is within your reach more than you can ever imagine? Rendering praises unto God is a very serious matter, and it is for those that want to touch Him and be touched by His presence. Praising God is rendering a sacrifice. Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Since Praise is a sacrifice to God and it also takes us to God, it is best to be sanctified before the sacrifice. God is holy and he will not respond where there is sin. Also, we cannot gather in sin and claim to be sacrificing unto Him in praise worship. Praise is sacrifice and it is proper to render a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. (Romans 12:1). 1 Samuel 16:5, “And he said, ’Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.’ Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. “  At the time Samuel was sent by God to go and anoint David, it is clear that sanctification comes before sacrifice. A sacrifice without sanctification is a distant to God. Once, the children of Israel were to present themselves before God, “So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.’” It is proven throughout the Bible that God has to be approached without sin. What kind of praise have you been rendering to God when you come before him? Praise is not noise-making, it is not keeping time to the music with our hands, it is not a performance, it is not drawing attention or gaining attention, it is not in the choice of nice words with a nice beat. Thank God for Jesus who has taken away our sins. If believers will confess with sincere and genuine heart, in the name of Jesus, praising Him will bring the presence of God because He is God that inhabits the praises of His people. When God is in your praises, your enemies will be ambushed, chains will be broken; victory will become your portion. Who should praise God? You should sing praises to God while you have being. The Psalmist said so, “I will sing praises to the Lord while I have my being.” (Psalm 146:2) In several pages of the Bible, it is written that those who fear Him should praise Him. Praise Him with the voice of joy, with harp and melody; praise Him among the people or in your secret closet. Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Praising Him all the time will raise you up to Him. Believers, like it or not, God has spoken; He has laid down His expectations that will generate manifestation. He will not come again to lower the standard or raise it. When believers choose to do just as He asked, the result will match His promises. Coloring the word of God, taking the word of God out of context, or adding to the word of God will only take a believer through emotional ruin. Approach the word just as God prescribed and He would be found by main. He is truly faithful indeed. God performs in prayer and He will perfect in your praises.
 
Will you sing praises to the Lord while you have your being?
"But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.” (Psalm 71:14)
 
Tunde Soniregun

        ÒÉFear God and keep his commandments for this is manÕs all.Ó (Ecclesiastes 12:13)              < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

ÒThe fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction: he will not be visited with evil.Ó (Proverbs 19:23) The word of God is true; it has never failed, neither would it go back to Him void. The fear of the Lord is all that is needed in a believer to posses all things marked for the believer. The fear of the Lord makes the difference between a believer and a non-believer. The fear of the Lord demarcates the foolish from the wise. No one says it better than the Psalmist in Psalm 14:1, ÒThe fool has said in his heart, ÔThere is no GodÕ They are corrupt, they have done more abominable work, There is none who does good.Ó Foolishness is not to fear God. Fearing God should be sincere and consistent, and is to be evident in a believerÕs conduct. Have you repeatedly confessed the fear of God with no integrity to back it up? Integrity is what counts before God, not a good intention. It is possible to have good intentions without the fear of God. The race of life is not about being good, but being righteous through the blood of Jesus. Job feared God, and this is the testimony of God concerning Job, ÒThen the LORD said to Satan, ÒHave you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.Ó  (Job 2:3) Just as God cannot overlook sin, so He will not overlook sincere and consistent obedience by any of His children. 2 Chronicles 16:9, ÒFor the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…Ó It takes a heart that harbors the fear of God to be loyal to God. It is also confirmed in the word of God that He will not overlook every operation of the heart of man. Just like Job, every man that has operated in the fear of God must have experienced undeniable proofs of GodÕs hand. In contrast, those that have not operated the fear of must have given themselves to self-destruction. Remember LotÕs wife? God specifically commanded Lot and his entourage not to look back on the way of escape from Sodom and GomorrahÕs destruction. Genesis19:17, ÒSo it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ÒEscape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.Ó There is no excuse before God, but the best position to live is in the fear of God. Genesis 19:26, Ò But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.Ó  Looking back, in this case, is a demonstration of not having the fear of God. It is not possible to listen to the word of God when you do not fear Him. The fear of God is all that leads to life, an abundant life indeed. What is it actually to fear the Lord? David gave the lesson when He volunteered to teach what it means to fear the Lord, Psalm 34:11, ÒCome, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.Ó Having made the offer to teach, he went on to say, Psalm 34:12-14, Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.Ó David humbled himself in the presence of God to learn what it means to fear God. Keeping tongue in check, lips from deceit, departing from evil by doing good while seeking peace says it all about what it means to fear God. Among all the benefits of fearing God, abiding in satisfaction is probably the greatest, as mentioned in Proverbs 19:23. Abiding in satisfaction is what we all need; it eliminates every reason for pressing needs. Having satisfaction in God will terminate every visitation of evil. There is no amount of determination that can put the fear of God in a manÕs heart except by prayer. Do you desire to have the fear of God in you so that you may not sin? Pray the prayer of David in Psalm 86:11, ÒTeach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.Ó God is a prayer answering God. If it is your desire to fear Him, He will deposit what it takes for you to fear God. Like He said in Jeremiah 32: 40, ÒÉbut I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.Ó Begin to hate evil. Fear Him and yours will be a fountain of life.

Without fainting or struggle in the face of lack, there will be a provocation of heavenly blessings of satisfaction.

Fear God; turn down manÕs reward for GodÕs reward will turn on showers of GodÕs reward.

Tunde Soniregun

ÒThat they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.Ó (Psalm: 83:18)< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

David said, ÒI will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.Ó (2 Samuel 22:4) David was not entertaining with words but he was gaining entrance into the court of God. David was gaining entrance into the presence of God through praise because it is praise that grants access into His court. Psalm 100:4, ÒEnter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.Ó Thanksgiving will get you to the gate and praise will get you into the court. David wanted to get to the court when He declared praise worship for His salvation from his enemies. Praise that is driven by joy, not mouthful praise, but praise from the heart is what will get you to His court. How do you call Him? He has so many names no other god shares because He alone is the great God. Which of His name will you call? It is the name of God that you call that will answer for you. If you call on Him as a God of provision, He will answer to you; and if you call on Him as God of salvation, He will not deny Himself. The question is do you know Him?  Romans 10:13 ÓFor whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.Ó The word says whoever calls, and whoever could mean anyone. Many respond to situations by screaming ÒOh my GodÓ, and sometimes you hear people say ÒOh JezÓ, but it is not an indication or demonstration of knowing Him. Many people know about His name and some actually know His name, but there is a significant difference. Knowing about the name of Jesus will not qualify one to be saved. Knowing about the name of Jesus is different from knowing the name of Jesus. Knowing the name of Jesus is not enough if the one who claims to know Him is not known in Him. To be known in Him is to be living the Word of God daily. It may sound impossible or challenging to be living the word of God, but it is possible to live the word. If the word of God were not livable, God would not have the expectation for us to live by His word. Jesus said, ÒIf you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.Ó (John 15:7) It is not enough to be fluent in His word if there is no abiding in His word. When you abide in Him you will be known in Him. The grace of God is sufficient, and it will make it possible to live the word of God. Whoever knows His name and call on His name shall be saved, and this salvation is not maybe or could-be salvation, it is certain salvation. It is impossible to know the name of God if you donÕt spend adequate time in His presence. Spending time in His presence is spending time in the Word. Which of His Names do you know? Is it the name you have heard Him being called, or His Name that you have encountered in the pages of the Bible? For Moses to be able to execute the assignment he was called for, he went and inquired from Him about His name. God responded, ÒAnd God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.Ó (Exodus 3: 14-15) His name has not changed. His name will not change and His name will continue to make changes because His name is for all generations. Do you know Him? Are you known in Him? Call on His Name and you shall be saved. After Pharaoh had turned down MosesÕ request the first time, Moses went back to God. God insisted and repeated His name to Moses as the only weapon that will bring forth result. Pharaoh, an agent of evil, persisted and Moses persevered. JesusÕ parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18:1-8) is a demonstration of the need to persevere in calling when the answer is yet in our hand. God insisted, the devil resisted, but Moses persevered. Proverbs 18:10, ÒThe name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.Ó Call on Him if you know Him and you are known in Him. His name will not fail you.

When you call on Him, and not on man, He will remember, rescue and redeem.          

Jesus is the deliverer, and when He delivers, He will also defend those whose hearts are contrite.

Tunde Soniregun