The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Blessed And Highly Favoured  "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].(Genesis 12:2-3 AMP)  In our theme scripture, God affirmed to Abraham that He had made him a blessing that could not be cursed. This is great on two grounds.  First, that it means indeed that no weapon formed against him could ever succeed, thus confirming everything the scriptures highlight as the heritage of the Saints.  Second,  it means that the same blessing accrues to us who are the seeds of Abraham. It's generic; and the scriptures tell us that all in Christ are seeds of Abraham thro

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Faith Has Its Works "You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works." (James 2:22 AMP)  Apostle James tells us that faith, if it has no works, is dead being alone (v. 17), and concluded that we can only prove our faith by our works (v. 18-21). You see, it's not enough to just say we believe if we won't do anything that proves we really do. Just like the Psalmist who said 'I believe therefore I have spoken', it is called the act of faith; because faith always carries corresponding actions.  How can you say you have faith for perfect health, and every time you get a slight symptom all you envision is a funeral? It's absurd, isn't it? How can you claim one thing and do everything that contradicts or negates it? Consider Abraham, for example. The scripture says that even though he and his wife had no clear indication of hop

  DAILY VITAMIN  - God Will Not Start Failing Now "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8 TLB)  The opening scripture tells us that the Lord is the same at all times. He was, is, and still will be. That statement proves two things.  First, because He's been there, seen it all, and done it all, nothing is ever too difficult for Him nor surprising to Him. It's no surprise He says the same (Jeremiah 32:27). So, there's no problem we have that can take God by surprise; He already has the solution to it. Thus, meaning with God you don't head towards life with uncertainty or helpless, but on the contrary with certainty and limitless help.  Second, it proves that whatever He did before, He will do forever. He can't fail and won't, and neither does He depletes in His efficiency to do all things.  You see, when I was a child, my mom would always do anything to help me find peace again whenever I got scared, even if it meant turni

  DAILY VITAMIN - Do Not Fear "...you need not be afraid of disaster or the plots of the wicked men, for the Lord is with you; he protects you." (Proverbs 3:24-26 TLB)  I have shared this story many times - in my books and every time I get to speak to a group about trusting God. When I was a freshman in the University, I couldn't register for the General Studies Courses (English and Philosophy) apparently due to insufficient funds. Anyway, a couple of days to the exams, a man lent me the money I needed-since I had part already; but the next morning a dorm mate came over to our room, pleading to my brother and I for some money with a promise to pay back in a few days after he had resolved an emergency at home; and so we gave him my money, hoping we would get it back before the day of the exams.  But that mate of ours never paid back, at least not until the exams were done with,  and so I didn't get to write those papers. The next day at the Campus fellowship I felt rea

  DAILY VITAMIN - Living Free "But if ye are led of the Spirit,  ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5:18) All through the New Testament, we are told to walk after the Spirit; which is the same thing as being led of Him. You see, the New Testament reveals the true nature and intent of God- and from this, we can see that His will is to have us walk in the Spirit every day.  Galatians 5:13 says that we have been called unto liberty. And that's what our theme scripture tries to explain further. It says that if we yield ourselves to the Spirit's guidance,  we'd no longer need a Ten Commandments or some Thirty-five Sacraments to please God, and as such no longer walk in the flesh, because we'd be walking in a spiritual law that naturally pleases God and aligns to His Word. That's why He also says that we are no longer under bondage to the law, because now in Christ by the Spirit, we live as He leads (Galatians 5:1). No longer given to legalism, but utmost spi

  DAILY VITAMIN  - You Are Justified   "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP)  1 Corinthians 6 tells us that we were once damned but now we have been washed,  sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ,  and by the Spirit of God (v. 11). See it this way: At one point in our lives, we were like a glass cup stained with grease all over with no remedy in sight,  but now having changed our spiritual status through faith in Christ,  we are brand new again, with no trace of any stain.  That's what our theme verse says.  It says all things are become new - no exception at all. And these all things are of God (2 Cor 5:18). That is,  we have been emptied of our Adamic state and filled with the Spirit of Christ. We have been whisked away from the old path of darkness,  and

  DAILY VITAMIN  - How You Act With People Matters  "No, he has told you what he wants,  and this is all it is: to be fair and just and merciful,  and to walk humbly with your God ." (Micah 6:8 TLB)  As Christians, our relationship is not just restricted to God alone,  but to people as well. God didn't save us to keep us isolated,  rather He saved us to lead many in the dark back to Himself - as lights in the darkness. Get it now?  In our theme verse, the prophet under the influence of the Spirit of God tells us that God's expectations is to see us walk in fairness,  justice and mercy,  and also in humility before Him at all times. He had already told us that these appeal to God greater than any offering we could possibly offer Him in the previous verses. And there are two things we can learn from here.  First,  this verse reveals to us that God values our devotion more than our donations.  He doesn't just want us to give because we feel compelled to or because we

  DAILY VITAMIN - Put Yourself To Use "For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance.  But from the man who is unfaithful,  even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. " (Matthew 25:29 TLB)  There is something in you that God demands to be shown to the world.  He sent you into this world to serve a purpose; you can't just let yourself rot.  Imagine a farmer who plants a seed and gives it the right conditions to thrive coming back at harvest time to find a plethora of rotten crops.  How do you think he would feel? Disappointed, I guess. Well,  that's exactly how God feels every time we choose to neglect putting our gifts to maximum use. We become like seeds which rather than produce good fruits rot away.  God expects a harvest from us.  In that parable of the talents,  He spoke about three persons. Two of which used what they had been given to get what was expected, while the other did nothing at all. An

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Jesus Is The Only Way "Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me." (John 14:6 AMP)  If you were in a plane that's about to crash, and you are offered an Amazon Gift Card, I'm sure you would wonder what they expect you to do with it when you are about to die. So, you'd probably shove it away.  Now imagine you are offered a million dollars right there in that plane,  I'm sure it might tickle your fancy a bit,  but then you'd realize that it's still just as useless as the Gift Card in a situation as that.  So, again you'd have to push it aside as well.  But imagine you are then given a parachute; what would you do? I'm certain you will grab it with such urgency even if it meant giving up the others, because it's your one way of survival in this dilemma.  It doesn't matter if you think the crash in a volcano won't kill you; because it will.  It might

 DAILY VITAMIN - God Is Fighting For You "God is jealous over those he loves; that is why he takes vengeance on those who hurt them.  He furiously destroys their enemies." (Nahum 1:2 TLB)  God is always on ground to fight for you,  and according to our theme scripture it doesn't look too good for the enemy.  Moses said to the people of God "The LORD shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14); and that's still exactly what He will do for you.  Consider verse 3; it says God is slow in getting angry,  but when aroused,  his power is incredible; and he does not easily forgive...  Doesn't that contradict what the entire Bible tells us about God as being full of mercy,  slow to anger and quick to forgive (see Micah 7:18, Psalm 136)? Well, guess what,  it doesn't at all.  You see,  in that verse,  God was referring to His actions towards the enemy in warfare against you.  And verses 7 and 8 confirms it.   It says "The Lord is goo

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Shall Rise Again "As for me,  I look to the Lord for his help;  I wait for God to save me; he will hear me.  Do not rejoice against me,  O my enemy,  for though I fall,  I will rise again!  When I sit in darkness,  the Lord himself will be my Light. " (Micah 7:7-8 TLB)  Try to imagine the reaction of the people if someone had gone to the lepers the day before they met Jesus and told them that their lives would be much more better sooner than they expected.  Some would have assumed it was a pre-eulogic statement because it seemed like it could never be possible in their lifetime. While others will call it the greatest motivational but untrue speech of all time.  Now consider the reaction of the same people if those exact words were repeated to Bartimaeus before he encountered Jesus.  I'm sure they would have said the same.  For God's sake they even tried to stop him from reaching out in Christ's presence because they assumed such expectation w

DAILY VITAMIN - When God Is Involved “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?” (Lamentations 3:37) Things may not look good presently, but when God is involved, it will surely turn out fine. And that is God’s Word for and I today- things will turn out just fine. That has been my comfort for years; like David said when he was in affliction “Thy Word comforts me” (Psalm 119:50). What Word? That even in the valley of the Shadow of death “Thou [God] art with me” (Psalm 23:4). Let’s also consider the story of the remnant who returned from Persia. The scripture says the officials put in place to watchdog Jerusalem issued an order to stop them from working; however “But because the LORD was overseeing the entire situation, our enemies did not force us to stop building, but let us continue while king Darius looked into the matter…” (Ezra 5:5 TLB). That’s like saying that a group of people framed you up, and created alibis to work effectively ag

DAILY VITAMIN - Treat Each Other Equally “And the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:39) If there’s one problem that has plagued the church, it is the supremacist attitude- People thinking they are better than others; to the point that they are segregated into sects even in church. In the Book of Acts, the Bible says the disciples (believers) were of one mind (4:32); that is, everyone treated one another as they would themselves. And this is because they understood that with God there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, Greek and Barbarian (Colossians 3:11). More so, Jesus said “Don’t ever let anyone call you that. For only God is your Rabbi and all of you are on the same level, as brothers” (Matthew 23:8 TLB). But ironically this isn’t the case today in most places. And the truth is that people still want to see themselves as above others. You see, while people might call you such magnificent names based on what they presume y