The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

 DAILY VITAMIN - Be A Cheerful Giver "Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift]." (2 Corinthians 9:7 AMP) Never forget that it isn't just giving that moves God, but giving cheerfully.  Anybody can give; but not everybody can give right. A lot of people give with ulterior motives, but only a few truly give with their hearts in their giving. Jesus spoke of a few Jews who gave abundant coins to the treasury of the temple, but still it had no value, possibly because they were only giving to have people cheer them; and to these He says they have received their reward. Because they didn't give as God expected them to, they received nothing from Him. Because they gave amiss, His blessing missed them. But He also spoke of a woman in the same chapter who gave less than a penny, and still praised her because it was

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Stop Telling It "We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20 NLT) The Bible tells us that the apostles had been spreading the Gospel of Christ after they were filled with the Holy Ghost; and on this day on their way to pray, Peter and John healed a 40 years old man that had been lame from birth. In the light of this, they continued publishing the testimony of Jesus, but were soon arraigned by the Jewish leaders who threatened them to stop telling people of Christ Jesus.  Even in the face of death, they yet testified of Jesus to these folks (Acts 4:8-12). And seeing they could not deny the evident truth, they thought to use fear as a weapon against the apostles (v.13-18). But the apostles asked them if it was right to obey them instead of God who had called to spread the Good News of Christ to the world around (v.19) (see Mark 16:15). And then they said in tandem, "We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we

 DAILY VITAMIN - Wait For God; He Will Rescue You "Hope in the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it." (Psalm 37:34 NIV) The scripture tells us that they that wait upon the LORD shall be made strong (Isaiah 40:31). It may appear as though the opposite is occurring, but all of a sudden, it opens up for all to see the blessings that such a man will receive. You may have been expecting the LORD to come to rescue; well, I'm here to tell you that your expectation will not be cut off. You have cried to the LORD, He will heed your call.  In James 5:13, the Bible says if anyone is suffering, let him pray. A lot of people don't pray when hardships surround them, and as such remain incapable to break free. Isaiah spoke of such people. He said they are oppressed, depressed and repressed, yet none ever say "Restore" (42:22). That is, none ever cries out to God to save them. Remember Jesus said everyo

  DAILY VITAMIN - We Are Messengers From Heaven "So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT) It is revealed in scripture that God can use anything to do His work. John the Baptist even once mused that He could use stones; and with Balaam we saw Him use a donkey to teach the obstinate prophet. Anyway, more frequently we will notice in scripture that for every time men were converted to godliness or corrected, God either did so Himself or sent " messengers from heaven ".  In Job 33:14-18, we are told that God speaks again and again....opening in the ears of men to give them wisdom and instruction to change their minds, warning them of the penalties of sin, and to keep them from falling. However, we are told that often times these men don't budge; "but if a messenger from heaven is there to intercede for him as a friend, to show him what is right, then

 DAILY VITAMIN - You Have Overcome Satan "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:13) The scripture tells us that we have overcome the devil and all his evil works; for it is written that God has placed him under our feet (Romans 16:20). However, knowing he has been defeated, he still tries to creep into our lives again in order to manipulate and oppress us; and this he does through sin.  Every time the devil tempts us to sin, it is because he wants to seize our dominion over him; for while righteousness exalts us above him, sin is a reproach (Proverbs 14:34). Consider Adam's case. And just like Adam, every sin we can ever commit revolves around the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life; for that is the devil's tool to bring us into enmity with God (1 John 2:15-16).  For instance, in his temptation of Christ, we see these thre

DAILY VITAMIN - You Are Covered "We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods." (Psalm 91:1 TLB) Picture a day when it's raining cats and dogs. I imagine in that scenery you'd find some people without an umbrella or a shelter running helter-skelter looking for where to hide their lovely heads, while those in shelters or perhaps even under an umbrella not giving a care in the world because they can't be touched. Well, that's how it is in life as well. The fellow without God God has nowhere to run to when he no longer becomes enough hope for himself. He is lost and skips from pillar to post in pursuit of solace and relief. But not us who have the LORD on our side. The scripture calls Him a strong tower, and as a result we in Him are safe and secure.  Our theme scripture says we are living in His shadows; as such what cannot harm Him can't harm us. That is why it would be sad to see a believer frightened by the same th

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Doubt God "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) A lot of us run with the ideology that seeing is believing, but Jesus tells us that with God it isn't. Believing is believing. Luke speaks about this with a simple illustration. He gave us the story of the encounter Zacharias had with angel Gabriel. The LORD had sent Gabriel to deliver His promise to Zacharias, but as soon as he heard it, he refuted that it was impossible on the basis of his present condition, and along with the promise as a result came a curse of muteness until the child was born (Luke 1:11-20). Then he tells us of Mary who received the same message, and though sought to know the mechanism for its manifestation, both got an answer for her troubles and the promise intact (v. 26-38). While Zacharias doubted God in pure unbelief, Mary was simply uncertain, and as soon a

  DAILY VITAMIN - Our Identity Has Been Restored "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV) The theme scripture says we are the righteousness of God. The term 'the righteousness of God' means the very image of God. That means that when God looks at us, He sees Himself. He sees His qualities. And how is this so? Christ restored our identity.  You see, when Adam fell, he lost two things--his authority and identity. However, while God restored man's authority in Genesis 9, his identity was still lost. He was still mere flesh and nothing more. But even with his restored authority. he still couldn't use it against the devil that much. The Bible says that a slave can't be greater than the master; and since the devil had become man's master because of sin, he couldn't exercise any dominion over him. That's why no man could cast out a demon in the Old Testament. Go s

DAILY VITAMIN - Grow Your Mind "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7) The first thing I would like to tell you today is that true success begins in the mind. Never forget that. Our theme verse says "as a man thinks, so he is". Thus, you can never outgrow your mind. Your potential is tied to the elasticity of your mind. To outgrow your present situation, you have got to outgrow your present mentality. Your mindset is your resident permit for certain conditions. That is, an impoverished mindset can't find itself residing in an affluent condition. It's got to grow. Take for instance; God had the land of Promise set on a platter of gold for the children of Israel, yet many couldn't enter because of unbelief. Do you know what unbelief is? It is a state of mind that tells you reassuringly that nothing is possible. First, we see them call the adversary giants and themselves grasshoppers, devaluing their chances of victory, unless you'v

   DAILY VITAMIN -  The Lord Will Give You Strength "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." (Habakkuk 3:19) Something spectacular happened in the life of Gideon that relates to us how extraordinarily God is willing to work in and through us. The Bible says when he and his men chased their adversaries, they became faint, yet they pursued still (Judges 8:4). With that faintness they kept going from one town to another until they caught up with the enemy. Now the question is, where did the strength to go on come from? Isaiah 40:31 tells us. It says that they that  wait upon  the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. The words  wait upon  represents trust; so those who trust the Lord will always find unusual strength to go on. Gideon trusted God. He never looked the part of a great warrior, bu

  DAILY VITAMIN -  What Do You Want To Do With Your Life? "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven" (Eccl 3:1 BSB) Everything God created has a purpose. The lightning has a purpose, the trees have a purpose, and even the mosquito. Yeah, the mosquito; even though some days I still struggle to figure out what a little dreary creature that sucks upon our skins just because it has the capacity to can really be useful for. But everything God made has a purpose. He doesn't waste resources. So, I have a purpose and so do you. Thus, in today's devotion I'd be sharing a bit of all God has laid in my heart as a life that should be mine to own. For as long as I can remember, the only dream I have had has been to make an impact in people's lives. To make a significant difference that can help them improve their lives constantly. And doing it is the only way I have found to enjoy true peace and sanity. So I live every day with a conscious

  DAILY VITAMIN - Exercise Self-control "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls." (Proverbs 25:28) One of the attributes the Holy Spirit brings into the believer is self control. It is one of the nine fundamental fruit of the Spirit. And it is simply the ability to respond to situations not based on how you feel about it, but on what the Word says. For instance, consider Jesus, in spite of being insulted on the cross, He still prayed for them. Many a person would have retaliated with curses even in such a despondent situation. Consider Stephen as well; who forgave his assailants. But also let's look at Isaac, whose wells were filled with earth but still didn't keep any grudge.  In case you don't understand how extreme that is, let me explain to you. It takes at least three days to dig a well where water can be found. However, in a region like the Middle east where this occurs which is invariably always arid, he would have

 DAILY VITAMIN - Stay Trusting The Lord "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3) The Bible speaks of Abraham--how he was blessed of God and helped by God because of his trust towards Him. And with that came a transgenerational covenant of blessings for him and his descendants from the LORD. Then we are told of Isaac who also reaped the blessings of his father. But when a famine hit Canaan, he sought to escape to Egypt through Philistia since he understood that like most environmental pandemics, the situation could spread into the Philistine city he indwelled. He had made up his mind, at least until God said "No!"  God told him to stay put at Gerar and trust Him, because He would bless him as He did his father. And the scripture says "he stayed in Gerar" (Genesis 26:6). But guess what? He wasn't staying in Gerar, he was actually staying in the LORD. He had defied logic and chose faith and trus

 DAILY VITAMIN - Never Forget To Remember That You Are Loved "And may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself" (Eph 3:18-19 TLB) You are always on God's mind. The scripture tells us that even before our birth He loved us and gave Himself for us (John 3:16). It says He did all that to make us conquerors in this life and the next (Romans 8:37). And you mustn't forget that. Don't let anyone, or anything, make you think otherwise. Your present circumstance can't override His love for you. He knows what is going on, and will help you (Psalm 34:15). In John 13, just to show us the extent of His love towards us, even when it wasn't coherent with the issue of discourse, we are told "An

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Can't Win Against God "Rather that than face the judgment sent by God; that I dread more than anything else. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?" (Job 31:23 TLB) No one ever opposed God and came out successful. We see a lot of them from history who tried to do so--Goliath, Sennacherib and the many other anti-God protagonists who sought to end the gospel but ended up gone first. This is simply to know that we can't win when we set out to fight against God. And there are two ways we do that: (1) Total Defiance against the Person of God: This is mostly indulged in by anti-Christians, and history has a lot of information about how even they were shamed. I heard the story of a man who vowed that as long as he lived the gospel would never be preached in his city; by morning he was dead.  Again, no man can oppose God. Consider Sennacherib. He defied the name of God, and tried to belittle Him and King Hezekiah before the people, but