The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

DAILY VITAMIN - No Lack, No Loss "And he said to them, 'When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?' They said, 'Nothing." (Luke 22:35 RSV)     When God gives His word, He keeps it. And what has He said? He said He will pay back in full everything we seemed to have lost having obeyed Him (Mark 10:29-30). He says He will be our providence even in the dryness. He said the strong may lack what they need, but not His people (Psalm 34:10).     Just like the disciples in the opening scripture, perhaps you think you have lost more since you decided to serve the Lord. Maybe it appears as though what He has said isn't in anyway in congruence with what you are experiencing, and you are thinking of giving up, to you He says You haven't and won't lose. Remember, He already assured us that everything we do to His glory comes with a reward (1 Corinthians 15:58). So, you best believe Him.     Nothing lost is really lost with G

DAILY VITAMIN - An Outlet For Signs And Wonders "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well." (Mark 16:17-18 AMP)     Scriptures had foretold that we are made for signs and wonders; and Jesus by His redemptive sacrifice established it. Now we can do all He did, and live as He lived. In our theme verse, we see Jesus' promise of dominion to each of us who have received Him. He says we will put demons to flight, and heal sicknesses with ease. This He says is the heritage of the Christian fellow.      In Malta, Paul had lodged at the home of Publius the Governor; however he didn't just go there for vacation, he went there for his natural responsibility as an ambassador of Christ. The Bible says for three days, after healing

DAILY VITAMIN - Untouchable "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17)      Over there at Malta, on a very rainy and cold night, Paul had set out to fetch wood to make a fire to keep warm. But in doing so, a viper stuck on to him. As the people waited, expecting him to go into a fit and die, Paul surprisingly simply shook off the snake and got on with what he was doing. Minutes passed, and he seemed stronger with each passing one.     "Yes, we saw him shake off the viper, but what about its venom?" seemed to be the thought that crossed the mind of the entire populace that witnessed it. It was so unusual that they assumed he was a god. Well, were they lying? Of course not; scripture says "Ye are gods and children of the Most High [God]" (Psalm 82:6

DAILY VITAMIN - Pray For The Nation "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper." (Psalm 122:6 TLB)    When the scriptures tell us to pray for our Jerusalem, it's beyond just our homeland; it is where we reside. Where a man stays is his refuge- be it a strange land or on familiar ground. However, we are told to pray for our place of residence because its peace can influence ours as well.    Even though it is not about where we stay but the God who keeps us, God counts it wise to have us stand as watchmen for our various cities of residence. He has called us to stand in gap in prayer and good deeds for the betterment of our present abode.     For instance, when the people of Judah were being exiled to Babylon, He told them to "pray for her, for if Babylon has peace, so will you" (Jeremiah 29:7 TLB). He then went ahead to tell them that it is the greatest way to return back to their homeland with much prosperity (v.10-14). Remembe

DAILY VITAMIN - You've Already Won In Christ "He died for our sins just as God our Father planned, and rescued us from this evil world in which we live." (Galatians 1:4 TLB)     Hope you got that? You have been rescued from the evil conditions of this world already, not waiting to be rescued. That is past tense; it is a done deal. Hallelujah! This means that there's nothing you're passing through now that God hasn't given you the victory over already. Your procession into Christ secured that (1 John 5:5 TLB). What you have to do is get conscious of this understanding and reality affirmed by the Word and live like it every day of your life.     He said that the birds neither sow nor reap yet they have no lack, and He says He has and will do much more for you and I (Matt 6:26-32). So believe God; you don't have a problem. At least you don't have a problem that God hasn't solved already in Christ. The scriptures say that He took upon Himself all

DAILY VITAMIN - Christ In You "...Christ is not weak in his dealings with you, but is a mighty power within you." (2 Corinthians 13:3 TLB)     You are not helpless. In fact, you have all you could ever need within you to be all God says you are. Christ in you is indeed your hope of attaining such glory (Colossians 1:27). Because of His presence actively dwelling in us, there is nothing we can't do. The Scripture says we can do all things -with zero impossibility- through the strength Christ gives us (Phil 4:13).     The Spirit of Christ empowers us to live in the glorious liberty of sons. That is, now we can live as He lives. And how did Jesus live? First, we know He lived loving mankind even when all they gave Him was abhorrence. We know He lived in dominion above all situations. That is, devils trembled before Him, fear ceased around Him, and lack fled as soon as He alighted. Indeed, His was the express image of life full of victory, righteousness and dominion.

DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Remember You "For if my father and mother should abandon me, you would welcome and comfort me" (Psalm 27:10 TLB)     God never forgets His own- not even for a bit. It might seem slow, but God always remembers and rewards our works and labours of love. The scripture gives us a wonderful example in Mephiboseth to support these claims.      We are already well acquainted with how he found favour with David, thereby leading him from Lodebar to the palace; from a burden to a prince; but there's a greater episode of God's grace upon his life we don't talk about often.       After Absalom usurped the throne, and David escaped with his entire household to ensure their safety, Mephiboseth was abandoned by his own manager Ziba. First of all, Ziba had left him in Jerusalem even though he knew his heart was with David, seeing he was unable to walk; possibly hoping Absalom would slay him. Second, the same Ziba went ahead to find David in order

DAILY VITAMIN - The Proof Of Your Faith "Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did" (1 John 2:6 TLB)      Christianity isn't just a way of life, it is the way that brings forth the God kind of life through you on the earth. So in essence, there are ways to validate if you're truly living as a Christian should. There are virtues that reflect this truth. The Word of God should be our mirror, and Christ our goal. Being a Christian is beyond just believing in Christ, it is about having His life revealed in and through us. And whether we like it or not, this is important.      Before we got saved, God judged us by our faith (John 1:12), but now He does by our works (Rev 22:12). That is, not just our identity, but the application of this identity in everyday life. John 14:15 says if we really love Him, we must keep His words. Our faith in Christ must be proven by the works we perform in accordance to the Word (James 2:17). He says these works shall

DAILY VITAMIN  - Living According To Our Kingdom Culture  "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." (Romans 12:2 AMP).      One very exciting portion that gets me every time I study the scripture is Felix's thoughts as recorded by Luke in Acts 24. The scripture says "Felix, who knew Christians didn't go around starting riots..." (v.22 TLB). It may not have meant much to you before now, but isn't that amazing? And thank God more for those models of the faith who gave Christ a good representation before Felix and all the peoples. We need more of them nowadays; and guess what? It's what He

DAILY VITAMIN - Overcoming The Grand Evil Scheme "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]" (John 16:33 AMP)       The enemy will always keep fighting, but that doesn't mean he will ever overcome you - that is unless you let him. John 10:10 says his role in this world is simply to kill, steal and destroy. That is his evil scheme against all inhabitants of the earth; and with great wrath knowing he has only a little while he doesn't waste any second (Rev 12:12). He moves to and fro, up and down, looking for someone to destroy (1 Peter 5:8).        However, in that same book of John 10, we are told that we always have an option of life and victory. Even our theme script

DAILY VITAMIN - The Power Of I Am "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7)        There's nothing more powerful than self-affirmation, especially when it is on the basis of who and what the Word of God says you are. This is what Jesus lived on every day. The Jews may not have believed Him, Pilate may not have either, but He knew He was the Son of God, and never stopped saying it. With this understanding, He stood above every situation in time just as the Son of God would.        On the contrary, a lot of people have been declared sons but yet live like slaves. This is because even though the Word affirms it to be true, God can never bless you beyond what you think of yourself. Psalm 49:20 says "Man that is in honour, and understands not, is like the beast that perishs". Your level of understanding about your identity is usually the extent of exploits you can get out of it. You can only become what you know, accept and believe is true.  

DAILY VITAMIN - Overcoming Lust (2) "And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires." (Galatians 5:24 AMP)     1 John 2:15-16 admonishes us to desist from lust, because it always finds a way to turn us away from God to our very own ruin. Be it the untamed craze for sex, wealth, importance, and everything we don't have that has many young people nowadays under its spell; if not placed under control can come back to truncate us.       Remember, whatever you can't control will conquer you and eventually bury you. This we see proven in the story of Achan's greedy lust and its consequence. Lust has a way of disguising itself as love or some normal desire, but isn't. It is only a misguided stream of desire and emotional sentiments driven by fleshy cravings. Like Demas, who was said to have deserted Paul because he loved this present world and all that it had t

DAILY VITAMIN - Character Is Vital "But a beautiful palace does not make a great king! Why did your father Josiah reign so long? Because he was just and fair in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him" (Jeremiah 22:15 TLB)     Fame and riches may get you a throne, but only character can keep you on it. Greatness is subtly a product of character; this is because a man's reputation, which is an offshoot of his overall character, is far more important than any other thing he possesses (Proverbs 22:1).     The rich fool in Jesus' parable had all he desired, but because of his awful character he didn't live to enjoy it. The same with Nabal the fool in 1 Samuel 25. But for David, God called him a man after His heart; a man with a godly character, and therefore godly dispositions. And notice how he ended up. Even the scripture says that the humble man will be lifted up (1 Peter 5:6) and the proud will be debased (James 4:6).      Consider what He also says

DAILY VITAMIN - Think On The Word "My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them" (Proverbs 4:20-22 AMP)      Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our minds (thought patterns) on things that are pure, excellent and winsome to truly have a victorious life every day of our lives. And there's nothing more pure, excellent and winsome than God's Word.      As such, until our thoughts are in line with what the Word says, our lives cannot be in sync with what the Word says. Remember, only those who think the Word live the Word; for as he thinks....so he is (Proverbs 23:7).      Even Paul shows us this in his letter to the Ephesian church. He says that the bridge between the old, unrenewed, perverted and disdainful life you may have had and the new, renewed, virtuous and victorious life that can be yours is in the renewal of the thoughts and

DAILY VITAMIN - Beyond Repentance "Then Paul pointed out to them that John's baptism was to demonstrate a desire to turn from sin to God and that those receiving his baptism must then go on to believe in Jesus, the one John said would come later" (Acts 19:4 TLB)      God doesn't just want the sinner to repent, He wants them to be saved. A lot of believers preach repentance-"Stop your evil deeds!"-and think it is enough when they should have gone further ahead to preach the real substance God offers, which is salvation.      We have grown so legalistic that sometimes we don't even understand there's a big difference between the two; yes, a big difference! As we could see from our theme verse, repentance is not salvation. Repentance is simply the turning away from what is physically, spiritually and morally wrong That is, to desist from evil; but unless it leads you not only away from evil, but also back to God through Christ, there is no salva

DAILY VITAMIN - Doing It The Lord's Way "...whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5)     That there is exactly how we have a complete walk in union with God. As we love what He loves, hate what He hates, allow what He allows, and disallow what He disallows, we'd be choosing His never failing ways before ours. And it is profitable always.      And here's how: God's way works, man's way don't. The latter may seem like it it, but it always end up with more destructive effects than constructive (Pro 14:12). The flesh will always choose a path that's opposing to God's; and if God isn't in a thing, it stands no chance of truly prospering. However, when we listen and follow His own opinions, though it may appear rough and patchy at first, but it will always come through for us.      Look at the servants in the scene of our theme scripture. It sounded like a joke to them what Jesus said, but eventually it got them the recognition an