The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

DAILY VITAMIN - Your Circumstance Is A Comma, Not A Full-Stop. "Soon-and it will not be very long-the wilderness of Lebanon will be a fruitful field again, a lush and fertile forest." (Isaiah 29:17 TLB) There might be a whole lot of buts in your life presently, but it shouldn't define who you are. "He has a great vision, but no sponsor". "He is a great guy, but he has no one who wants to go out with him". "She is a bright kid, but I'm not sure she can afford College". "He is a godly man, but we can't find enough good things happening in his life right now". "She's everything but married". These are stereotypical statements, not the true definition of a man's life. Circumstances never define a man; rather his stance in them do. Even Jephthah had a but. The Bible called him a great warrior but the son of a harlot. However, I want you to get acquainted with the real message there. Jephthah might have been

DAILY VITAMIN - Tired Yet Moving! "And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the 300 men with him, faint yet pursuing." (Judges 8:4 AMP) When the two kings of Midian took a glimpse at Gideon, after they had noticed how despite being at the disadvantage and in the minority he still persisted till he caught up with them, they assumed he was the son of a king (see Judges 8:18). But was he? No! Rather he was of the most insignificant family in Manasseh, not to talk more of Israel. But yet he was presumed to be of royalty. You see, kingship is not a position per se, it is a character trait. It is in the behavioral pattern. Gideon had every reason to give up, but he didn't. He kept moving and conquering just as God keeps on being above all circumstances forever. He was blatantly tired, yet he wouldn't give up. He was rejected twice, yet he couldn't permit himself to stay dejected. His destiny depended greatly on it. Similarly, do you ever feel tired and

DAILY VITAMIN - Love Obeys "The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father...... " (John 14:21 AMP)" The love God has for His created man, including you is something that can never be quantified or met up to; it is exceedingly superfluous in its own magnificence, and this He proved when Christ died for the sinner in you and I. Paul said "But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us" (Romans 5:8 AMP). Yet, regardless of the consistency of this love, God said in an open letter to the Children of Israel through the hands of Hosea that ..''He would love them no more" (9:15), for the reason that they chose to repay Him with their wicked works. It is strange, right? For one whose love is unconditional to speak of being able not to love the recipient anymore

DAILY VITAMIN - You Will Get There Because You Can "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am [h]self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]" (Philippians 4:13 AMP) Mary McLeod Bethune started what would become a great American College with nothing more than six dollars. Walt Disney started his dream with only about forty dollars to his name. While Jose Feliciano, on the other hand, became a great composer with just an old piece of guitar. What this means is that life may give you limited options, but only you can choose your limits. The Bible says that He has blessed us with all the blessings there are to be men and women of great virtue (2 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 1:3). The present lack is not a good enough reason to end up as nothing in life; but the gift of God in you is enough resource to be everything you can ever be. You just have to believe in all you ca

DAILY VITAMIN - Like The Bumblebee, Fly! "And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!" (Mark 9:23 AMP) Mary Kay cosmetics is now one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world because one woman refused to give in when everyone else said it couldn't be done- and that it wasn't possible. In lieu of this, she has the symbol of the company represented by the image of a bumblebee- to showcase her resilience to conquer the many importuned conditions of life. Now, over the years, scientists have made theories on how it is impossible for a bumblebee to fly, yet it flies. Animal experts also say it should be impossible seeing it has tiny wings and a really big body; but the bee doesn't know it is impossible. It just flies anyway. The bumblebee outdid statistics and still baffles realists today, and so did Mary Kay Ash. It outgrew its limitations, and now it stands an icon forever. In the sa

DAILY VITAMIN - Take Control Of Your Life "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7) It's such a very funny statement, that is, what we say when we sometimes try to start a conversation with our acquaintances. We ask them with so much veracity ''How is life treating you?''; but literally I have reached an understanding by the grace of God that it is very wrong. 'Why?' we may ask. Well, here's why: - One, when God made you and I, He did it fearfully and wonderfully; meaning He did not create us to fear, but for the other constituents of creation to fear us for His awesome glory upon us, giving us dominion as well. And wonderfully because we were made for signs and wonders (Isaiah 8:18), showing that anything that should occur must be determined by us, and not life itself or its circumstances; for the results of life were programmed to be automated by the choices made, and by the actions and beliefs of you and I, we can ch

DAILY VITAMIN - Avoid Excuses "For every man shall bear his own burden" (Galatians 6:5) Failure is perfected when there is always an excuse for it. Note, it's not a crime to fail, but it is one when we find comfort in it, and this we do when we fail to admit our flaws, but always have an excuse to back up our failures. For instance, after Adam had fallen at Eden, God came, asking him for the reason why he did fail, and immediately he turned and unconsciously blamed it all on God for the woman He had given him. But we also see a contrasting case in the life of David. After he had killed Uriah to usurp his bed and his wife, God came to judge him by the mouth of Nathan; and notice David didn't spend anytime giving excuses of him being too bored or deceived by power, but went down on his knees, and immediately sought forgiveness, having the knowledge that though excuses don't cure a problem, but at least acknowledgment brings it to the open for forgiveness to all

DAILY VITAMIN - Is God Worth Everything To You? "Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39 AMP) If you were to choose between a billion bucks to aid your present state, or eternity with God, what would you pick? First things first, I'm not in anyway insinuating that a man can't have both on his own side of the lever, rather I'm trying to bring into awareness the choice the elements of this world lay before us every day, thereby forcing us deceitfully to derail, as it paints it as our only hope for a legacy. Many a times, a lot of people go the 'very known' wrong way just because they willingly self-convince themselves that the gains they want is greater than the salvation they need; and due to these actions of theirs rain heavy self destructive predicaments on themselves. For instance, Judas had salvation right in front of him; in fact he h

DAILY VITAMIN - Take A Walk With Jesus "[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]" (Philippians 3:10 AMP). The principles of friendship sometimes may be confused as being based on how close two people are, but I believe that it's based on how close two people want to be. The desire to start something beyond what you presently see has always been the starting point for relationships. That's what truly defines the potential of a relationship- that is, how far you are willing to go. For instance, when Jesus was passing by th

DAILY VITAMIN - God Can Lift You Today! "Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hands are power and might; in Your hands it is to make great and to give strength to all." (1 Chronicles 29:12 AMP) From the beginning of the Bible to the last page of it, we are shown one peculiar feature of God out of the many other peculiars, which is the Wonder Working Power of God - the ability and willingness to raise Something out of Nothing, and Someone out of No one. Let me show you one particularly special case study. The scripture tells us of the story of David in his trying times when his son Absalom usurped his throne, and sought to totally annihilate him from mortal existence. But in the midst of these trials and troubles, God drew wise men towards David to help him find comfort, hope, faith, and recovery once again; and one of such was the man Barzallai. When the throne was restored back to David, out of gratitude he chose to compensate this old f

DAILY VITAMIN - You Need To Know "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might." (Ephesians 1:17-19 RSV) There comes a time in a man's life when he sits and reasons if his present condition is all there is-and can ever be-to life, seeing the predicaments that stand at traffic against him. In the midst of this hardship, he condemns any hope of rising again-terming it impossible, thereby totally condemning life as non-profitable. And by this, it becomes clear that for those in this circumstance, they make problems the overseer and the arbitrator of their hope in life . Though the ability to find out our tr

DAILY VITAMIN - G.R.A.C.E: Recreated In And For Christ "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]" (Ephesians 2:10 AMP). While writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul specifically made mention of the unimaginable grace of God, when he wrote: ''...Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ'' (Ephesians 2:5). Paul, a man who had been to the very extreme of sin, while believing he was righteous, came to the understanding that it was impossible for him to have saved himself; that is, to have reasoned out salvation out of the blue, and thus saved himself, seeing how deeply he had erred...so deep that he used the plural 'sins' to show how extreme t

DAILY VITAMIN - Believe The Word ''And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed not''. (Luke 24:11) When we as individuals hear or read the Word of God concerning us....His words of promise, I believe some of us still choose to doubt so as to feel safe in our own small little world, in order to have that excuse of "I didn't believe, so in case it doesn't work out, it won't really hurt me"; failing to understand that the inability of the words to become a reality in our lives was first as a result of our inaction towards believing. Many of us believe in God, but not many believe God. There are multiple religions, but the supposed religious people are still active on the field of doubts when it comes to the subject of God. God can and will only be accessed by faith. Little wonder why Jesus said ''Blessed are they who believe without seeing'', showing us that the orientation of receiving blessings from God begin

DAILY VITAMIN - We Are Well Covered   "Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4 AMP) As John narrated the ministry of Christ in his gospel, he spoke about the gathering of the disciples to Him one after the other; and when he came to the part of Philip's conversion, he said that after Philip had followed Jesus, 'he found Nathaniel' (John 1:45), and told him about the Messiah he had seen with his own eyes. Though Nathaniel argued against the statement as it begged the question of a Messiah coming forth from such a non-renowned town as Nazareth, yet Philip's confounding words of ''Come and See'' ended the feud, and Nathaniel followed him. On seeing Jesus, he saw a man who spoke to him as if He had known him aforetime, and he asked if they had met before, and Jesus said 'when you were yet under the fig tree, I SAW THEE' (v. 48). This mystic verse in scripture teaches us one thing: that though it may se

DAILV VITAMIN - Overcoming Problems (3) "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]". (Philippians 4:13 AMP) There is a verse in Scripture I call my personal winning verse, because it helps me bounce back in times of trouble. It also reveals the truth that men try to hide from us - which is, that surely problems would come, but it also gives a plus, which is the fact that ..yes there may be problems, but there is also a God...a Father who help men scale through these ordeals. ''Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy feet from being taken''(Proverbs 3:25-26) Doesn't that excites you? Doesn't it make you feel that there's nothing in all the world that can keep you down? In this life-chan

DAILY VITAMIN - Overcoming Problems (2) "Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43: 18-19 AMP) For every time we read the story of Jacob, we fall in love with the part where he changes his ways before God and man, and completely rescinds from his supplanting; we love how wrestled with angels; had a change of name, and became a great man like his father and grandfather. And while in the euphoria of those moments, we willfully forget about the part when he suffered, had difficulties and problems; and to top it all up ran away from his own brother and uncle afterwards. In other words, we forget the fact that prior to his successes, Jacob really had gigantic problems. He didn't have an easy life even though he came out with a victoriou

DAILY VITAMIN - Overcoming Problems (1) "And there is hope for your future, says the Lord; your children shall come back to their own country." (Jeremiah 31:17 AMP) Most times, we try to be so perfect that we tend to believe that if we do something at any given time, it might affect our future, whereas we fail to realize that we affect our future even when we do nothing at all. Our fear of failure has so much as eaten up even the slightest bit of zeal to try out something before commenting on it. In fact, nowadays we give remarks before trials, not because this things can't be done, but because the fear of failure has overshadowed any hope of the actual possibility of such a deed by us. But guess what? A friend once said 'Failure is not a name'; and I wish to also say that failure often times is a process that can be redirected through another pathway into something worthwhile.....into success, depending on how you look at it, and think of it. It's not yo

DAILY VITAMIN - So Little Yet So Great ''...but what are they among so many?''(John 6:9) On seeing the multitude that surrounded them for help, the disciples said unto Jesus, 'it is impossible to feed such a crowd to their full': and Jesus asked for the available resources, but they exclaimed 'it is too little to make any impact'. Yet Jesus said through His action of asking them to get seated ''PROCEED'': teaching us firstly that availability with God, and before God, supersedes ability. Can you find a similarity in your life? Do you ever think that what God has given you isn't enough to be all He says you can? Well, He says He's given us all things that pertains to life and godliness in order to live a life full of endless virtues (2 Peter 1:3). Oftentimes, we hear a lot of complaints from people who wished they were born in the White house, of which I used to be a victim of such wishful thinking; yet as Jesus told His disci

DAILY VITAMIN - Becoming A True Friend "There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24 RSV) Have you ever had a friend who would give himself for you? Who would place your needs above his debts? Who would choose to die just so that you live? I don't know about you, but I believe I have such a friend. The beauty about such people is that they do not only do good deeds towards us, but also teach us the very principle of life through their deeds......which is to have a much more deeper cause in life other than gain, violence, and unneeded societal feuds, but rather to leave an indelible imprint on everyone we meet; an impact men would carry even unto eternity. Friends are in fact the best gifts, and oftentimes the worst in life; but I tell you if you have a good friend, you have something greater than gold. The Children of Israel were expecting a King who would grant them parole from the hands of th

DAILY VITAMIN - God Wants To Teach You "And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21 AMP) One of the greatest gifts men can receive from God, other than true life in Christ, is the opportunity to be taught by the All-knowing God. Though we tend not to appreciate it as depicted every time we fail to heed His Word, but believe me, a single piece of revelation you get from God is a gazillion times more profitable than what any college can teach you. This is because, first of all, revelation supersedes information. It is divine, unadulterated and truth; and secondly, once God has taught you, you are not only ten steps beyond the other man, but also such knowledge can be applied in the physical as well as the spiritual, unlike our human education. For instance, despite all the qualifications of the wise men of Babylon, they couldn't solve the ridiculous task of