The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Why God Blessed You "Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them." (1 Timothy 6:18 TLB) In Jesus' words, we are made to be lights. And to live as light is to add value to the lives of those around us. Look at the sun for instance. Freely sustaining plants and animals alike. Well, we are the sun of the world as Jesus was. He sustained and still sustains. Which is what He did while on earth. He met not only the spiritual needs of people, but their primary need as well. He fed the hungry if He met them in their hunger, comforted the mourning. He was everything they needed Him to be in order to fully express the love of God. Now the same is required of us. We were blessed to be blessings to many. This is what God meant when He declared we shall lend to nations and not borrow (Deuteronomy 28:11-12). The surplus blessing...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Let The Spirit Be Your Guide "And if you leave God's paths and go astray, you will hear a Voice behind you say, "No, this is the way; walk here." (Isaiah 30:21 TLB) If there's one thing I've chosen to do, it is never to be hypocritical. And to tell you I'm some perfect chap every minute of the day would be hypocritical because I'm not. In fact, the only reason I'm still here is because God won't let me go. He lovingly comes back to pick me up when I fall. And fall I do very often, at least within the realm of my mind, doubting and all the sorts. But He never lets me go. The Holy Spirit whispers to bring me back to the right path, and when I stubbornly won't listen He roars and drags me out of my spiritual Egypt as scripture says He does (Hosea 11:10-11, Isaiah 11:15-16). And that's why I'm still here. Not of my doing nor making but His, and that's why like David we say "Not unto me, not unto me, but unto...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Make It Count "...for this purpose came I into the world..." (John 18:37) These words of Jesus resonate with the very idea that we were not brought into this world by mistake. The idea of designation and predestination. In other words, there was a purpose that engendered your being born. There's something God has prepared you for. Like any good old product, there's a need that must be met, a demand that must be supplied.  Every producer produces against an already established need. Leaving nothing to chance; if not profit wouldn't be highly assured. So they run their feasibility studies to ensure an advantageous purpose can be ascertained before such a product is put out. Even big corporations like Coca Cola know that we might need a gulp of sugar after an exhausting day, so a drink to enhance glucose availability in the body system was designed and has been meeting that need for centuries, guaranteeing generational profits. In the same way, God ...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Your Miracles Are In Your Hands "All things are possible if you can believe..." (Mark 9:23) Note, the emphasis is on You. You are the defining factor in the world of miracles. Not God. And I'll show you how. Miracles are 50/50. What this means is that we have a huge role to play. You see, miracles are not a big deal to God, just to us. It's everly in His atmosphere as oxygen is in ours. Yet a working mechanism is required if we are to obtain it with ease.  However, regarding oxygen, many, though, humans still can't absorb it directly due to one congenital mishap or another. Very painful it is. But such that not all of us can as readily get what has been made hugely available. The same applies to miracles. God does and grants platforms/seeds for miracles daily. As the scripture says He daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19). The problem is that we have not grown the capacity to receive. Jesus said "According to your faith, be it unto you....

  DAILY VITAMIN - Ask Anything "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:14) As kids, weeks before our birthdays we are asked what we would love to have the most, and oftentimes than not we did get them. Even now as adults we still get asked. For instance, today's my birthday and if I didn't always do enough to hide that information from a lot of people including familiars I'd still get asked right now. But here's the thing: such gracious offers of asking in order to receive certain gifts only happen on certain occasions, humanly speaking; however with God it's a plain cheque. Jesus instructed us to ask if we've never asked anything of Him and assures us that when we do our joy will be complete (John 16:22-24). Meaning He won't disappoint us. Rather He will answer us, and speedily so long as it's not against His ways. For example, you can't ask God for your neighbor's wife. That'd be stupid when God Himself declared t...

  DAILY VITAMIN - See It As God Sees It "Look as far as you can see in every direction, for I am going to give it all to you and your descendants..." (Genesis 13:14-17 TLB) Life is hard. That's the truth, but it's not what matters. What really matters is how we respond to it. Because that's what faith is all about: how we respond to it.  Faith says I'm still here when life has thrown its worst blow. Faith says it's not over when life's mockingly saying it is. Faith says I trust God when life says God can't do anything about the situation. Faith knows there's another way, God's way, and chooses that other way. In the theme verse, God told Abraham that though he may not have experienced the increase promised, but if he can see it he can have it. And Abraham did choose to see it, and he got it eventually. The thing is life offers us a choice. Always. Its reality and then God's. The reality of life is that life is tough and crazy things hap...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Logic vs. Faith "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead." (Hebrews 11:1 TLB) Does faith really defy logic? Well, that's a question with contrasting answers. Logic, in itself, deals with the aggregation of premises to reach a suitable conclusion. Such that if I say I am feeling feverish and have no appetite, then it can be inferred that I am sick. A postulation of fact based on provable evidences. Whereas faith, though, also based on an evidence, relies solely on one truth: that God is good and is real and is all He says He is. In this regard, logic will disagree because it cannot prove there's a God by way of premises. However, while that may happen, logic is necessary for faith to be legit.  First, for instance, a man who never knew hepatitis C is incurable would term it coincidence if it does vanishes f...

  DAILY VITAMIN - A Clean Bill of Health Is Possible "No inhabitant of Zion shall say "I am sick..." (Isaiah 33:24) God is able to make all grace abound toward a man that he'd get to have all things in sufficiency, including good health. I've seen it happen many times. In Jesus' time, He healed as many as were sick and the Bible never told us these folks went back to being sick ever again. The woman with the bleeding problem, the blind man at the pool of Siloam, the invalid at Bethesda, and the old woman at the temple with a bad back, none of them returned to their sickened state after He touched them. And you don't have to either. The Bible said He will restore health unto us and heal us of all our wounds (Jeremiah 30:17). Not some, all. He knows how painful that condition is for you and promises to heal you. Why is this so important? Because it's against protocol for a child of Zion to be ridden by sickness. Our theme verse says it's an abominat...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Do Not Let The Monster Win "....but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your experience how his ways will really satisfy you." (Rom 12:2 TLB) When a man becomes born again, what gets rebirthed is his spirit. Not the soul nor the body. This is why at first, the urge to smoke a joint or to down a full bottle of alcohol still remains if you used to do that, or the crave for drugs or to fornicate. And sometimes many still slip into these vices. Not because their salvation wasn't genuine, but because though their spirit has been saved, their bodily elements and a large portion of their yet-to-be spiritually influenced soul still remains as it were. Without a fresh newness. Still doing as you once thought and did. Which are the two actions that shape a man's everyday life. Now, these other facets of man learn to change and be transformed as the spirit influences our daily living. It's lik...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Winning The Battle Of Life "I have given you authority over all the power of the Enemy, and to walk among serpents and scorpions and to crush them. Nothing shall injure you." (Luke 10:19 TLB) If there's one thing we can never completely escape in this world, it is trials. The Bible says man's days are few but full of troubles (Job 14:1). No one can avoid them. If you don't go to them, they will come to you. As long as you're still in this world, you cannot be totally rid of them; be it in the form of a troublesome neighbor, or a pesky boss, or simply just direct spiritual attacks. We can never truly live life without encountering them. As the opening scripture depicted, we live in world inhabited by serpents and scorpions. Some in human form like us, others as extraterrestrial forces. Yet in all these, we are expected to overcome.  Little wonder Jesus never promised us a trouble-free life, rather He only assured us of a trouble-less one. In t...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Dream It, Believe It, Work It Till It Happens "Because of your faith it will happen." (Matthew 9:29 TLB) If there's one thing all humans share in common, it's the ability to dream. A lot of folks may never fully use this gift but it's there. Whether untapped or extensively utilized, that potential to create worlds with colours better and brighter than our present ones exist, and if we use it as it should be used new worlds can be formed. Have you ever wondered why God gave man the capacity for faith? It's because like Him mankind can create the uncreated in this world of the seen from the unseen. Mankind has the ability to see colours that never existed and make them be. To see life out of dead situations and hope from the hopeless. And this is exactly what Jesus showed everyone through His time on earth. Consider everything He did, it was simply an act of defiance against the usual. Against the normality of routine and the commonality of cli...

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Use Your Time Wisely "Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should." (Psalm 90:12 TLB) Just like our theme verse supposes, many are just like David who prayed, "LORD, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end." (Psalm 39:4 GNV), because in a way they believe if they knew they'd be more intentional with their lives.  But is that really true? Anyway, I'll answer the first question for you: it could be anytime. We are all on borrowed time here. We are all on a clock. God has numbered our days, and whether we know it or not it's counting. And fast. This might sound weird to you, but it's always been strange to see people act like someone's life has ended when the doctor says he/she has only a year or less to live. Because the truth is we could even die before they do. We are all on the clock; the only difference is that those guys can see theirs now, w...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Learn To Rest "After finishing all He created, God ceased from what He had been doing." (Genesis 2:2) Man for centuries have been compared to machines because the truth is the body somewhat is like a machine itself, only a much delicate one. And just like machines, without rest it will crash. For effective use, machines are allowed a period of rest to reduce the risk of wear and tear. They are oiled regularly, their parts replaced consistently as required. Why? Because there's nothing in this world that wouldn't break down when overused. And the same applies for mankind. Unlike machines, the human body have vital organs that can be directly affected by stress. This stress causes the release of certain neurotransmitters that can damage them in the long term. Being mental or physical stress. From cardiac arrest to stroke, most of these ailments have a causative factor related to stress levels. And this is why it's important that you rest. Most folk...

  DAILY VITAMIN - There Is Yet Hope In Your Future "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former ..." (Haggai 2:9) God never creates a good beginning without a greater end for those who trust in Him. Like it is written in the Book of Job, the end is always better. At least that's how it ought to be. And when it comes to us believers, our end will be better. Both here on earth and afterward. The Bible refers to it as the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day (Proverbs 4:18 ESV). So while the beginning may appear to be dark, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Jesus speaking about us mentioned that as many as have lost one thing or the other because of their allegiance to Him shall repossess multiple folds of the same in this world and everlasting life in the world to come (Luke 18:29-30). Or shall we also consider how Isaiah puts it when he said eyes have not seen nor ears heard what God has prepared for us (Isai...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Think Big "I have said, You are gods: and all of you are children of the most High." (Psalm 82:6) Th act of thinking big isn't a social construct or a concept for the enlightened alone as many assume. No. It's an age-long principle instituted by God Himself to enable men become the best version of their mortal selves. Everything God said about men in scripture wasn't always a perfect picture of who they were at the moment but of whom they could be. For example, when He calls us the light of the world, He was inferring to the original nature of our being at creation. You may seem like a burden to many right now, and may even be one presently, but God sees you beyond that. He sees you as He sees Himself-- in His likeness (1 John 4:17). In other words, you have to start thinking how God thinks. God doesn't think loser. He doesn't say "Oh I'm not good enough." No, rather like Him, we must know we are. We must think "I may n...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Speak Positive Words Only "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable." (PSALM 19:14) The words we speak define who we become. They are like the sculptor's chisel, shaping us each day till we are brought into the form of what we always affirmed we were. This is why the things we say matter a lot. It took God only words to create everything except man. Scripture says He speaks into existence things that were not (Romans 4:17). In the same vein, we can bring into our lives or cast out of it things we don't want through words of affirmation. Little wonder why we'll be judged even by our idle words. Jesus said by our words we shall be redeemed or condemned (Matthew 12:37). Hence, what have you been uttering about yourself? Remember that you are a being of authority and every word you say is a proclamation, even the negative ones. That's why you need to stop with all the negative words and thoughts and incline yourself ...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Give In To Fear "What time I am afraid, I will trust in you." (Psalm 56:3) It's impossible to live life without fears. But we sure can learn to live above them. Believe me this world can be really scary. The thoughts of what might happen while you are here, or when you're not anymore; the thoughts of how your family feels right now or how they might feel if things don't work out; these things are enough to have think you've had enough. I've been there, and if I'm being honest I think I'm still there sometimes. The thing is I've been ill for sometime, but what's worse is that I don't know what the definite cause is. I like to think I'm only living on what many call borrowed time but what I like to call God's grace. The way I feel bodily makes me know it's true. And that alone makes me scared. Not just for myself but for my loved ones as well. As a result, I spent most days largely depressed thinkin...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Keep Your Eyes On The Lord "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:19) Of all things in this world, only two things are certain. One is that some day we would all die, and two that after we die we'll all go on somewhere else. These two are a constant, every other thing is a variable. Others are a choice, these are a given. For instance, I could be a billionaire and still choose to never own a car. That's a choice. I can choose to stay unmarried. I can choose to never have children. In fact, people even choose who they want to love these days; but no one can choose if they are going to die at the end or not. And no one can choose not to end up where they deserve according to their works. The Bible tells us that at that time some will be sentenced to everlasting life and others to everlasting damnation (Daniel 12:2). So truly at the end there is somewhere we are going to be. Isn't this one ...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Choose To Forgive "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and to forgive one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you." (Colossians 3:12-13) There's the popular saying to forgive and forget ; but the fact is no one truly forgets. Not even God. Yet as strange as this truth seems, that's what makes the concept of forgiveness so beautiful. You see, forgiveness isn't about forgetting what someone did to you. No. It's you finally accepting it happened but still willing to love them as you always have because you know that's exactly what you'd want for yourself. Forgiveness is about giving others or yourself a second chance. And that's important because it changes you. Years after Paul approved the killing of Stephen, he still didn't play the ignorant card. He knew wha...

  DAILY VITAMIN - Live A Life Worth Remembering "Therefore, let your light shine so that men may see and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) I've always been a firm believer of the truth that life, true life isn't measured in years but in deeds. Not in how long you live but in how well. I don't believe in dying too soon or at the "right" time, I believe in dying fulfilled or not. I believe at the end all that matters is that we were fit and useful for the purpose intended when created while we had breath.  Everybody dies; so death isn't really the Crux of the matter or the defining point. Life is, because not everyone lives; at least not how they were born to live. Many come into the world, but only a few become what they were here for. And we have to be a part of that set of persons. God has a plan for everyone. There are events we are meant to partake in, without which other great phenomenon might never happen. Imagine if Elijah hadn...