The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Power Over Plagues "There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent." (Psalm 91:10 AMP)  The Revelations spoke of a God 'who has power over these plagues' (Rev 16:9). It doesn't matter the kind; and that God is our God. Our theme scripture says because of Him "shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling". And we can trust those words, because he who wrote them had a first hand experience of its authenticity.  First, we see Moses in the book of Exodus reverse every plague that befell Egypt in the name of the Lord; proving to us the sovereignty of God and His supremacy over all things.  But second, and more importantly, we see how he declared the habitation of the people of God-Goshen-a plague free zone, and it was so. Plagues surrounded Egypt, but none neared Goshen, because the Lord has power over all plagues, and those who abide in His presence are safe from them.  Little w...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - There's Always Something To Be Thankful For  "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18 TLB)  Yes! There's always something to be thankful for. In the midst of the darkness, there's always light. You might not see it, or might have to look deeper and farther, but it's always there; that's why God expects thanksgiving in all situations.  You see, things might not have panned out how you'd hoped they would, but even at that, there's still something worth giving thanks for in your life. For instance, you may not be where you want to be, but you're also not where you use to be. You are in motion.  When I think about all the things I assumed I wanted but never got, there's always this urge to feel disappointed or discouraged, but then I remember all the things I had and those things I never thought I needed but got. They might not seem like...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - God's Word Works All The Time "As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him." (Psalm 18:30 AMP)  In our theme verse, David affirmed that God's way never fails. When He tells us to follow certain paths and patterns in life, it is because they will inevitably bring us to a future He has designed for us; and we can count on Him. He continues, saying, that this is because His Word is tried and tested, and never disappoints those who trust Him for it. I can tell that that could be you and I today; because it was David in his day, and he testified afterwards that by it God made his feet swift and strong and brought him into a high and wealthy place (Psalm 18:19, 33). Even Habakkuk had the same testimony. He said that though things did not work out as he had planned, but he kept rejoicing at God's Word and God eventually brought him into a high place (3:...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - God Expects Us To Bear Fruit "Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit." (John 15:2 AMP)  Our theme scripture tells us that God demands fruits from us. These are the results of your Christian walk that draw others towards Him. Like a light that guides others in the dark. And verse 16 of that same scripture tells us that is why He selected and sent us. He said whoever doesn't bear fruit shall be purged out; and he that does shall be pruned for more. That is to tell you that regardless of circumstance God expects us to bear fruit.  Let me explain better. In Mark 11, the Bible says Jesus was passing through Bethany; and while on the way found a fig tree. He expected to find fruit on it but found none since it wasn't the season of figs yet, but still He curs...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Why God Wants You To Prosper  "Say it again: The Lord of Hosts declares that the cities of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Jerusalem and bless her and live in her." (Zechariah 1:17 TLB)  The scripture says that "God will return to Jerusalem with mercies.... and thy cities through prosperity shall spread forth; for He shall yet comfort Zion, and He shall yet choose Jerusalem" (Zechariah 1:16-17). How wonderful! More than anything, God wants His people to prosper. We are told that He rejoices at this (Psalm 35:27); and in the New Testament speaking through John said "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper, and be in good health, even as thy soul prospers" (3 John 2). So it isn't a myth; God does want you to prosper - be it in health, in your career, in your relationships, in your finances, or otherwise. For instance, He says you would lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10); what does that...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Manifesting The Word "But if anyone keeps looking steadily into God's law for free men,  he will not only remember it but he will do what it says, and God will greatly bless him in everything he does." (James 1:25 TLB)  God's Word always go with proofs. The scripture says it must have accomplished all that it was set to do (Isaiah 55:11). And God expects our lives to be tailored in the Word. That doesn't just mean living by it, but also living in it.  Let me explain.  He wants our daily experiences to be on the realities of the Word. That's how Jesus lived, and so lived above the limitations that easily sunk many. And how does He expect us to achieve this? On numerous occasions in scripture, the Word [commandment, judgment, statutes] of God is pronounced to work in this manner: "which if a man do, he shall live in them". And what that means is simple. It simply depicts that if we live by what the Word says, our lives will turn out ...

 DAILY VITAMIN  - Be God Confident   "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him..." (2 Chronicles 16:9 AMP)  The scripture says that "Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6). What we can learn from that is that God doesn't just make things, He preserves them as well. He is always in charge and on top of every situation.  You see, unlike men who create disasters and then find it difficult to control it when it goes ballistic, God can never be caught unaware or clueless at any time. He is always at the top of His game all the time. There is nothing too difficult for Him, and what He can't do doesn't exist.  And why is this good news...

 DAILY VITAMIN  - Victory Through Christ   "For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you.  He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you in great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you". Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song: "I have gathered your wounded and taken away your reproach" (Zephaniah 3:17-18 TLB)  The scripture tells us that this is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith- in Jesus Christ (1 John 5:4). Many do not understand that, and if they only did, they will be unmoved in the face of tribulation like Mount Zion (Psalm 125:1). Well, let's consider what the Spirit wrote many years before Jesus' arrival through Zephaniah to fully comprehend what that means. He said "Sing... Be glad and rejoice. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not...

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Make A Way "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6 AMP)  The Bible says that He will make the crooked way straight again. That means even when there seems to be no way at all,  or the only way found is impassable, He will yet make a way.  For instance, there were five thousand plus people wearied and in need of food, and Jesus said unto the disciples "Feed them". To Philip, it sounded absurd. He had done the maths, and they were way behind. It would take more than a year's wage to come close to feeding them, and they didn't even have a day's wage.  You see,  while Philip's maths was correct, it wasn't the truth. Based on human understanding, it was flawlessly right, but based on God's record, it w...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - The Word Of God Is Not Bound "...But the Word of God is chained, even though I am." (2 Tim 2:9 TLB)  For centuries, men have tried to put God's Word into oblivion; but they have always failed. In every single place, the testimony had been "so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed" (Acts 19:20). God's Word always prevails regardless of the obstacles set against it. The scripture says it accomplishes its purpose at all times (Isaiah 55:11); and the purpose of God's Word is to save souls at all times, and salvation it shall accomplish.  In the city of Ephesus many centuries ago, Paul had moved from one place to another as directed by God's Spirit to preach the word, but only a few believed. Others fought against its spread. He stayed there for two years grooming the disciples, but the city was still filled with idolatry; until one day when God acted. By one simple sign, the entire city was won for Christ, and the Word mightily p...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - The Righteous Never Dies "Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26 AMP)  In the words of Jesus, we never die. There might be a cessation of our mortality in this life, but still we do not die as some men describe death. Death has been described as a cessation of breath, and thus life; a nullness in existence; but with such definitions, we can boldly say that the righteous do not die.  First, let's consider the cessation of breath definition. When Jairus' daughter died, the people cried that she had died, but Jesus when He had come said she was only asleep. He said the same also about Lazarus. You see, in these two instances Jesus used the term asleep not because He...

 DAILY VITAMIN  - Those Who Touch Jesus Are Made Whole "Wherever he went- in villages and cities, and out on the farms -they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets, and begged him to let them at least touch the fringes of his clothes; and as many as touched him were healed." (Mark 6:56 TLB)  The theme scripture tells us the story of all that happened on a certain day when Jesus went to Gennesaret. It says that when the people knew He was among them,  they went around and brought everyone who was ill or incapacitated. And this happened in every village, city and country He entered. It was always the same; and as many as touched Him were made well. You see,  doctors cure, but only God heals. And there's only one way He shows us we can heal and be healed,  and that is by faith in the Name of Jesus. And that's exactly how we can touch Him- not literally physically, but by faith in His Name.  Consider these examples. When the woman with the issue of...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - There Is Only One Way "And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 AMP)  I read the story of a political figure in Africa who before his death asked his wife to bury him with all of his money so that when he gets to the place of judgment he could buy his way to paradise, knowing he couldn't get there otherwise being an agent of tyranny whilst alive. It sounds funny, right? Well, I'll tell what's funnier; that a lot of people also take this ideology to be true. Yes, that's the truth; many a person still live with this mentality. That "there are other ways to get to heaven" miseducation.  However, the scripture already told us that in that day of the Lord's wrath, money will fail. Zephaniah puts it in a rather lucid way. He said "...the mighty man shall cry there bitterly... Neither their silver nor their gold shall b...

 DAILY VITAMIN  - God Is Within Reach "His purpose in all of this is that they should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him- though he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17:27 TLB)  God is not far away. And that's a good thing. But the greater thing is that according to our theme scripture, He isn't far away not only to believers, but to everyone altogether. Now, let me explain to you why that is great news; and I will start with why it is for the unbeliever.  This is good news for the unbeliever because it means (s)he isn't completely lost yet; (s)he can still be found. God hasn't given up on them. That's the picture Jesus wanted us to see in the Parable of the lost son. When he returned, he found his father awaiting with open arms. In the same way, God is everly waiting for the lost to return, but they have to make the choice to return. 2 Peter 3:9 says that He is patient with everyone that are lost so that they can also b...

  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 ...

  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 re...

  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 ...