The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

DAILY VITAMIN  - God Sees You ! "You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head. I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God." (Psalm 139:5,7 TLB)       No one is hidden before the eyes of the Lord - be it for judgment or for blessing. God is aware of where you are all day everyday. I hear a lot of people assume that "no one" can ever catch them or even see them when they are misbehaving, because they forget all too soon that He who has the all-seeing eyes isn't in that supposed "no one" statistics.       Also, there are others who assume that maybe they are missing and insignificant, and so stand no chance of receiving a change of story experience from God. Well, hear what He says about that; He says His eyes go to and fro across the whole earth on our behalfs to show Himself strong in our lives (2 Chro 16:9). So, for a fact, God can see you, even when you think no one else can; and He promises to m

DAILY VITAMIN  - Refrain From The Loser's Syndrome   "Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." (Proverbs 4:15)      If we do what others did that led to their downfall, we'd surely also have a downfall. That's something Amaziah never understood. The Bible referred to him as a man who followed God but not with a perfect heart (2 Chronicles 25:2). And here's why: Amaziah had just experienced one of the most remarkable events of his reign. With only a few soldiers, he plundered the entire city of Seir (v. 6-12).       But along the line, the foreign infantry he had hired only to let go attacked his own country. And even though God had helped him in his last battle, God didn't do anything. And the scripture told us why. It says Amaziah picked up the idols of Edom to worship (v.14). And God reproved him saying ‘how could he reverence an object that couldn't even save those people who hadn't ignorantly worshipped it before now? (v.15). But

DAILY VITAMIN  - Jesus wants Your Heart   "Just think how much more surely the blood of Christ will transform our lives and hearts. His sacrifice frees us from the worry of having to obey the old rules, and makes us want to serve the living God...." (Hebrews 9:14 TLB)       The Old Testament religion was more about appearance. That was how it qualified devotion; just look the part. It was centered on having a form of godliness - an appearance of piety; and so it was easier for people to pretend - for it didn't really bring the perpetual and transformative change God desires in man.      And so when Jesus came, He made us know straight ahead how this- what we had been practicing -was a mountain throw away from God's original intention. In that while the old system only "cleaned" our bodies, Jesus came to clean our hearts. He made us know that there was a difference between appearance and true godly devotion.       He said to the patriots of the old system, &q

DAILY VITAMIN  - How To Be Saved "I say emphatically that anyone who listens to my message and believes in God who sent me has eternal life, and will never be damned for his sins, but has already passed out of death into life." (John 5:24 TLB)       For centuries, men have been in pursuit of some sort of assurance of eternal bliss. The Easterners term it Nirvana, and many others what they choose; a place of bliss. Men of many culture have always wanted answers to the uncertainty of eternity with little or no progress in that; but Jesus came and He gave us the answer.       According to the scripture above, He declared that if any man believes His message of salvation and thus in God through Him, he already has an assurance of life in eternity. He also says his past sins won't impede it, because in God's sight, he has passed out of death into life.       Let me explain that to you. Do you know how a lot of people never graduate because they can't pass certain cours

DAILY VITAMIN  - God Will Test You   "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins [test the emotions], even to give [repay] every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:10)       Life down here is somewhat like an experiment; and through it God brings out men of superior quality - men who can withstand whatever circumstances come their way. Men who will stay strong as eagles having chosen to trust completely in Him with their whole heart.       Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are perfect stayed towards Him. And how does He know this in real time? Well, other than His being omniscient, He tests us. Solomon said that if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small (Proverbs 24:10). For some people adversity could be gruesome trouble, while for some others it could be too much comfort. The latter was Asa's case.      For 35 years, as long as Asa's heart was reliant on God, H

DAILY VITAMIN  - Divine Power Through Eternal Life   "Did not become a priest by meeting the old requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but on the basis of power flowing from a life that cannot end." (Hebrews 7:16 TLB)        Jesus could do everything He did -every healing, every miracle, and every act of love and wisdom- because He had eternal life; and we can also do the same because we have eternal life too. That's where the virtues that distinguished Christ from the rest come from- the life of God in Him. And now we have that.     The life of God is what enables God to act, live, walk and work as Himself; and so everyone who has the same life can act, live, walk and work in the same dimension as He does. The opening scripture says that Christ is the Messiah not because He belonged to a specific tribe, but because of the power of the life resident in Him. And He said those who receive the same through His Lordship have been given the right to operate in the sam

DAILY VITAMIN - God Is Not A Secret To Be Kept "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill." (Matt 5:14 MSG)        The entire Bible is about God telling a story about one person- Christ, and about how we can rejoice together as one big family at the end if we receive Him. That is the story - that God in Christ came into the world filled with love, died out of love, was buried for love, and rose again through His love for our realignment into His holy family when we choose to trust in Him for our salvation.        And He wants every other person to know that. Our theme verse says that we are lights that are commissioned to go public like a city on a hill about the truth of God's love for mankind. We are meant to colour the world with the person of God, because everybody deserves a chance to know Him. The scr

DAILY VITAMIN - Operating Like Andrew "And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders." (Luke 15:5 TLB)       All through scripture, every time Andrew was spoken about, he was notably involved in doing one thing alone. Three times when he took center stage, what he was found doing was bringing someone to Christ.      First, he started from home. After his meeting with Christ, he ran home, found his brother Peter, brought him to Jesus, and on that day Peter's life was revolutionized for good forever.     Second, when the Israelis that sought to hear from Jesus became weary and in need of refreshment, with a young lad among them who had as much as he owned to offer as relief material to Jesus, Andrew stood as a bridge and took the young boy to Jesus; and that event also stands as a seal of Christ's sovereignty till date.     Third, when some Greeks came to Philip seeking audience with Jesus, Phillip took them to Andrew, who in turn took them to Je

DAILY VITAMIN - Fill Your Mind And Mouth With Positivity "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)      There are two things in a man's life that can affect his faith either positively or negatively, and thus his general well-being in life. You see, the heart is like a soil from which the outcome of life is defined; and these two things are how we sow. It is the root source of all human realities; and these two things are how we spring them forth. And they are: (1) His Thoughts: We are what we think, because what we think ultimately determines how we live. Recall Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is". Little wonder why Paul admonishes us to "think on these things" (Philippians 4:8)- things that are of excellence and praiseworthiness. And to let us know just how important this is, he tells us to emulate Christ (Philippians 2:5). S

DAILY VITAMIN - God Understands What You Are Going Through "For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us." (Hebrews 2:18 TLB)      You are not alone even when you think you are. Jesus knows how you feel my friend.       A lot of times I personally might have lost faith whenever I saw how in spite of the fact that I did 'everything' to please God things still seemed dragged, while others who didn't care a bit about God seemed to be flying fast. And it wasn't because I didn't work harder, it's just unexplainable; and so we assume God failed us. Well He didn't.      Peter knew things like this would happen and so he tries to comfort us by saying that every child of God passes through the same thing, but that after this temporal suffering, God will settle and perfect all that concerns us (1 Peter 5:9-10). In that same verse, he

DAILY VITAMIN - A Substitute For The Sinner "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)        That is exactly what Jesus chose to be- the bridge that brings the lost souls back to God. Just so you know, Jesus didn't die for just Christians. Those who acknowledge His death and resurrection and receive His Lordship become Christians. Jesus died for the whole world - for everybody.        As He said, He came "not for the righteous, but for the sinner." (Mark 2:17). In other words, if there had been no sin, Jesus would never had needed to die. He died because our sins required that He did for us to be redeemed and justified before God. And if He could again, this will somewhat occur every time a sinner is turned to God; because it's His primary delight to take our place that we might have one in God.        In Luke 23, the Bible tells us that a murderous and rebel

DAILY VITAMIN - Obey The Word And Succeed "Despise God's Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed." (Proverbs 13:13 TLB)      In the days of Hosea, the Bible speaks of how everything was failing in Judah - the land, animals and plant alike. And then God scolded the priests for the lack of faithfulness, kindness and knowledge of God He had noticed all over the land. He said "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge....because they have rejected me, I have also rejected them.." (Hosea 4:6).      But in the real sense, was there a deficit in the knowledge of God? No! Because the prophets never stopped speaking. Jeremiah called it a fire in his bones that he couldn't restrain (Jeremiah 20:9). So, what was truly wrong? A deficit in obedience to it.      You see, in the sight of God, knowing and understanding Him is more than just about having an idea of God as many of them had; it's truly about obeying His will. It's how He kno

DAILY VITAMIN - Loving Your Children: Devotion "An old man's grandchildren are his crowning glory. A child's glory is his father." (Proverbs 17:6 TLB)      Children are meant to look up to their parents, and they do this because parents are the next thing to God for them. And this covers all creatures. Take a look at other animals, and you'd realize that everything the little ones know and become, the parent has a direct hand in it.      And how do they do it? By being devoted to their offspring as they grow. If you are going to get to know your child better, in order to help him or her become better, then you are going to have to stick to the perfect bonding measures. Of which, devotion is superior. And here's how you can show devotion: (1) Giving them your Time: You need to prioritize some alone time with your children or grandchildren as the case may be. Because as long as you can keep them as a very important part of your schedule, you will always

DAILY VITAMIN - Loving Your Children: Discipline "Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older he will remain upon it." (Proverbs 22:6 TLB)      There's a new generation ideology that the kids are always right and that loving them means agreeing with that. But that's wrong. Kids are not always right. They are humans too, and so have a few mistakes waiting to happen - and for some others many. Because this is so accurate, truly loving them would be to lead them right, and not to play cheerleader even when they are wrong.      Children need guidelines and a framework for discipline; and most times these aren't cozy. You see, as I noted in the previous nugget, love has many faces. Love can be kind, but it can also be cruel. Love is soft, but it can also get hard. However, love always cares; whether it is being kind, cruel, soft or hard, its primary aim is always to achieve the truth that love cares.      Growing up in Africa, every time we ma

DAILY VITAMIN - About What We Call Love "Many waters cannot quench the flames of love, neither can the floods drown it. If a man tries to buy it with everything he owned, he couldn't do it." (Songs of Solomon 8:7 TLB)      In today's nugget, I would like to tell you what what we call love really is. There have been many definitions, and multiple illustrations, but love has a simple universal characteristic wherever it may be found. So whether you are a parent, a spouse, a friend or what have you, this understanding of love will help you practise it better in your relationships.      1 John 4:7 tells us that there's a perfect way to walk in love, and we must practise it every day. Hence, understand this four guiding principles of love and help others do the same, and it will change your view and attitude towards how you should truly walk in love towards yourself and the people you care about. And these are what you should know about what we call love: [1]