The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN - When Things Get Hard "Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider thy ways." (Haggai 1:5) In response to Solomon's prayers, God showed us that when things get hard, there's only one thing we can do to revert it. He talks about these uncontrollable factors beyond our ability to effect any desired change, such that we'd even think God was fighting against us; and to that He tells us what we must do is humble ourselves enough to seek His face and do what pleases Him (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).  Most times, life responds to us according to the things we fail to do and not even the things we do. Things we leave out. And there are certain things required of us. Especially when we feel blessed. One of which is to share so that others may also see the glory of God. In our theme scripture, we are advised that when things seem to stay static despite the efforts we put in to move forward, or when we never have enough to feed our home in spite of how har

  DAILY VITAMIN - Like A Firefly "In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 CSB) What makes a Firefly so special?  Its fluorescence. Its ability to be spotted amidst darkness unaided. And most times a sparkle of fireflies can be enough illumination to find our way through dark paths. In other words, they help us see what on our own we might not have. In the same vein, you are sort of like a Firefly. Because you were designed to show light in the dark. At least that's who you were meant to be. Jesus in John 8:12 says He is the light of the world and those who follow Him never stumble into darkness. And then in Matthew 5:14 says we are exactly the same. Lights; confirming John's words that as He is eternally so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Yet in all this Jesus still insinuates that being a thing isn't enough except we act like it (Matthew 5:15). See also Ephe

  DAILY VITAMIN - Remember Who You Are "Ye are gods and all of you children of the most High..." (Psalm 82:6) The songwriter says "I'm no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God." And to be sincere that is all that matters. YOU. ARE. A. CHILD. OF. GOD. It doesn't get any better than that. As a result, you are joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:14-16); meaning whatever Jesus can do, you've been given the grace to as well. And whatever can't happen to Him should be never be allowed to happen to you. In other words, was Jesus ever oppressed by devils? You shouldn't either. Was Jesus ever stranded without help? Not till prophecy required it to be for His purpose to be fulfilled. In the same way, you cannot be without help. Never. Because your help is from the LORD who made the heaven and the earth, and He never sleeps (Psalm 121:1-3). Therefore, when these aforementioned things start to occur in your life, remember who you are, and declare the only

  DAILY VITAMIN - There Is Power In This Place "And the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." (Isaiah 33:24) I'm sitting here listening to Hillsong's 100 Billion Times and in those words today's devotion comes alive. Visible, apparent; because it not only reveals the strength of our God, but all of our potentials in and through Him as sons and daughters of God. Our position in Christ is one of power. Power sufficient to change lives for good. Not just ours, but even those amongst us. Power to heal and to change fortunes forever. The scripture says the same power that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in us and will quicken our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11). Not another body, this one. This same one everyone says is sick and weak to death. Not in any other life, but this as well. In other words, it doesn't matter how sick you seem or how weak you look, there is sufficient power to restore you

  DAILY VITAMIN - Adopting The Kingdom Life "And He will give them to you if you give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to." (Matt 6:33 TLB) The above scripture is simply telling us all to seek to make Him known and to know Him. That's all that matters. Everything we could seek out of life is found in that simple practice. Is it good health? A fulfilling life? A great marital life? A sound financial life? Or wisdom? All come as an addendum when we do that. This is what Jesus came to teach us. He didn't come to give us a religion. Man had that already. He came to give us this Kingdom life and to show us how to live it (John 10:10).  The Kingdom life is a life focused on God. In this life, we aren't the protagonists. God is. So, out problems aren't the main highlights, He is. That means only what He says matters as truth. In other words, even when you don't look or feel good and He tells you you are you are. Even when you don't know w

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Don't Have All The Time In The World "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end." (John 9:4 TLB) There is a reason why you are here right there where you are. You might not know it, I might not, but there is and God knows it, because it was His plan. There is a reason why you are still alive today. Perhaps you're like me who has narrowly escaped death a couple of times and keep wondering "what for?" Well, this is what it's for. To fulfil the reason you were made. And the thing is we don't have all the time in the world anymore. We could go anytime -- in a year, ten, a hundred, yet all that matters is if we did what God made us to do. The night will always come regardless of how hot and bright the sun shines, and as Jesus stated in the theme verse everything will come to an end. Death will come, work will end and

  DAILY VITAMIN - Be Wise "In this silly life I have seen everything, including the fact that some of the good die Young and some of the wicked live on and on. So don't be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don't be too wicked either-- don't be a fool! Why should you die before your time?" (Ecclesiastes 7:15-17 TLB) To be wise is to be able to discern what to do and how to do it when it's the right time to do it. Sometimes, it might look nasty, but at all times it is the right thing to do. It was how Jesus lived. He did things not because it was what people expected of Him, He did things only when it was God's desire and what would yield the best result. For instance, at a time like ours where most preachers would love nothing more than to increase the number of unrelenting followers, Jesus refrained from being a cult hero. At a time, when even preachers would love to be on the good side of governments and influential people, Je

  DAILY VITAMIN - Being Rich Isn't A Bad Thing "To be wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better." (Ecclesiastes 7:11 TLB) The scriptures never at any point say money is evil, it says the love of money is the root of all evils (1 Tim 6:10). Money, on its own, is a neutral entity, it is our taste for - and ambitious with - it that are oftentimes proponents of evil. God Himself is rich. He says the silver and gold are His (Haggai 2:9) as are the cattles on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10-11). And because He is rich, He has the capacity to bless us accordingly. Abraham was rich and yet righteous. So was David, Job, Isaac, Jacob and co. All had money but stayed faithful to God. So the question of being a good Christian isn't if a person is rich or not as some religious affiliations have erroneously insinuated for years, it is if he/she loves God or not; because that's the only thing that matters. In fact, money is the only thing God partially puts at par with

 DAILY VITAMIN - Be Thankful For The Little Things "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will foryou who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18 TLB) The little things are those that matter the most. Think about it; how many times have you woken up and sincerely felt like you were given the gift of an extra day? For most people, it's next to zero. They see waking up each morning as a right, a privilege. But is it? No, it's a gift. Each night we go to bed, we sort of die, just with a beating heart though. And the next day, we are raised back. It's a miracle and a gift we mostly overlook. A gift we don't thank God enough for because we are so busy being upset He didn't grant us that new job, that new car, that new house or better yet make our last relationship last longer. We spend so much time being bitter about the things we don't have we forget about the things we do have. For God's sake, you're alive and he

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Life That Pleases God  “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) Many years later, the same words stated in our opening scripture were re-enacted through the lips of Jesus Christ. Speaking to the crowd, He said “Yes, woe upon you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders—hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden, but ignore the important things—justice, mercy and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone.” (Matthew 23:23 TLB). Note the words ‘more important’. All the giving in the world and all the smiling can’t substitute doing what is most important. Giving is great, smiling is good, but living the life that showcases godliness is all that really matters to God. You see, being a Christian isn’t as straightforward as we tend to think. And so if we are not careful, we could be deceiving ourse

  DAILY VITAMIN - Stay Calm Even In The Storm “Watch out! Don’t let your anger at others lead you into scoffing at God! Don’t let your suffering embitter you at the only one who can save you.” (Job 36:18 TLB) Have you ever seen people who speak vile against God because their lives didn’t turn out as planned at a particular time? Well, I have, because I was once like that. But there are also those who have this mindset on auto-replay. It’s one thing to panic and fall, but another to stay fallen. And according to the scriptures, the righteous don’t stay fallen; they may fall a thousand times, but they always rise back to their feet. Because God’s intention is for us to be calm even in the wildest of storms. You see, the reason many of us, including myself, doubt God sometimes is because we are not entirely flooded with light. By virtue of the New Birth, we might be living in the light, but we aren’t totally walking in the light. Living in the light is where we find ourselves when God too

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Can And Will Change Your Story “Now to Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) When you read the Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you’d find a pattern. The entire book, just like the whole Bible, clearly reveals how extreme the power of God to save is for those who believe in Him. In our theme verse, Paul tells that God can do exceedingly beyond all we can (1) ask, and (2) dream of. He can surpass the limitation of our imaginations, desires and prayers. He’s just that powerful; and so it’s never about if God can, but about if God wants to; because He always can. However, in Chapter one of the same book, in trying to encourage the faint-hearted, Paul also said that he prayed our hearts be flooded with light that we might see (v.18). Which begs the question: see what? The truth that God can do all things. Mary knew this, and it was said of her that because she believed ther

 DAILY VITAMIN - God’s Not Dead “Our Father which art in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9) All through His sermons, Jesus reminded us that we have a Father in heaven. The question then becomes why He consistently did this? The answer is simple. Jesus knew with time men will begin to doubt that God existed. As a whole generation of mankind did in the beginning (Judges 21:25). Many did in His own time, but He also knew that with the increase in knowledge many men will conclude themselves as God, leaving room for no Father in heaven. Look around you. Everything men predicted in the early 70s, 80s and 90s are happening. With the development of Artificial Intelligence, we would soon be leaving in a world run by robots. So the mind begins to think “if this is happening, then is God really real?” Many are already thinking it; maybe you are too. But listen, God is real. He knew this would happen; so Jesus told us knowledge will increase and the love of many will wax cold (Matthew 24). Greater and more wo

  DAILY VITAMIN - Embrace God’s Mercy “Come to Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Sin is burdensome. Guilt is heavy. And many a time both can make us feel lesser than God intended. They strip us of our self-worth. And then there’s forgiveness, which sets us free. But not just the act of being forgiven, but accepting that we’ve been forgiven. You see, in Christ we are forgiven. God forgave us but we’d never live in the liberty this grace brings unless we wholeheartedly accept it. The scripture says we have been justified and brought to a place of peace with God by virtue of this (Romans 5:1). And this happened because God is plenteous in mercy (Psalm 103:8). The same scripture says despite our shortcomings He treats us based on how He originally sees us (v. 10). Why? Because He cannot deny Himself (1 Timothy 2:13). In other words, even in our multiple failures He sees the best He can make out of us, that’s why He’s always willing and

  DAILY VITAMIN - Seek Christ Not Religion “…Seek you Me, and you shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. Seek the LORD, and you shall live…” (Amos 5:4-6) Why would God instruct His people to focus on Him and not events or places? Because He knows man well enough to know men can make a religion out of anything. So He said seek the real deal. Seek Him. The concept of religion, if you look across all borders, is the searching of a way to perfection. Peace. Completeness. That’s what it entails holistically: man’s pursuit for what might be missing between what is and what he senses can be. Whether it is the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists; even atheists and agnostics, all have a religion that seeks the ultimate answer to all of life’s questions. And so requires a certain level of devotion to principles; fidelity to a state of conscientiousness and pious attachment. So

  DAILY VITAMIN - Living In The Light “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) In John 8:12, Jesus shows us that life—true life—has light. But many there are that live without this light. Many live empty. Their spirit unregenerated. They may look good on the outside, but they are nearly dead on the inside. So they spend many a time depressed, sad, feeling without hope, and stay that way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s impossible for a Christian to feel sad at times, but it is abnormal to stay sad indefinitely. Anyway, this happens because this light is missing. And as such, there is a void. A void that needs filling urgently. A void only light can satisfy. Jesus said if this light is present, such a person won’t stumble in darkness. Why? Because through this light, he/she overcomes every darkness that hovers around (John 1:5). This light is Christ abiding in us. You see, the more we give ourselves to Him, the more we are submerged in His light. Learning

 DAILY VITAMIN - Only God Can Save “And they came to him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.” (Mark 2:3) What’s the first thing you understand from that scripture? I’ll tell you: they realized they couldn’t help that fellow on their own, so they brought him to who they were sure could. There’s someone out there who’s probably thinking, “Why won’t she change? I’ve taken her to see multiple counsellors. I bring her to church every single week. I even scold and preach to her every day. Still nothing. She’s just getting worse. My little girl isn’t becoming any better. She still hangs around bad folks, doing drugs and all. Oh God! Why? Why isn’t she changed? I’ve done everything.” Well, now you see why. Change is the most difficult thing to achieve. In fact, it’s proven that men naturally can’t change, they simply learn to adapt to circumstances. Thus, a proud rich man appears to be humble when he becomes poor. Circumstantial, not natural. No living creature can inhere

  DAILY VITAMIN - To Save A Sinner “Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) But then the question becomes: * How can I know I need to be saved when I’m not even convinced I was damned to start with? * How do I know I need to come out of the darkness when I’m not even convinced I’m in the dark right this moment? * How can I accept I need Jesus in my life when I’m not even convinced right now I’m no better without Him? These are valid arguments folks bring up most times. Valid, because there is no salvation without conviction. As such for them to be saved, they must have been flooded by a tsunami of convictions. And even though conviction is personal, it can be aided. Yes and in this case must be. You see, darkness isn’t exposed by listing all of its attributes. “You’re black. You’re white. You smoke. You don’t.” No! It is by exposing it to light as Christ alwa

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Role Of The Church “…To what is the kingdom of God like? And whereto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.” (Luke 13:18-19) The church is tailored after the Kingdom. In fact, it is primarily an annex of the Kingdom on the earth. The centre of God’s domain among men. And just as the Kingdom reaches beyond all boundaries, the church is designed to grow and spread across all lands.  The Bible illustrates the Kingdom like a king who called all to the feast of his son (Matthew 22:1). Which is exactly what Jesus designated as the fundamental duty of His church (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20). In other words, the church like the Kingdom carries the Genesis mandate to multiply, replenish and have dominion (Genesis 1:28); and what is it meant to multiply? Righteousness through the knowledge of Christ as aided by the Holy Sp

  DAILY VITAMIN - Dreams Do Come True “…all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Whatever a man can dream, he can be. Every God-inspired dream was given to you because He knows you have all it takes to bring it to the fore right there within you. And He’s so sure because He put it there Himself. You see, God would never give you a dream bigger than you. Perhaps bigger than your present circumstance or your apparent present capacity; but if He gave you a heart to own it, He’s surely given you the potential to see it happen. The key here is to believe. I don’t care how outrageous your dream is, it can never be more outrageous than God’s ability to do the impossible. The scripture says HE can do all things above what we could even imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  What that means is if you can dream it God can do it because even the things we aren’t capable of dreaming about He can do those too. So, just believe and take the corresponding actions required to meet its reality hal