The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

DAILY VITAMIN - Sowers And Reapers "Already the reaper is getting his wages [he who does the cutting now has his reward], for he is gathering fruit (crop) unto life eternal, so that he who does the planting and he who does the reaping may rejoice together. For in this the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps."         (John 4:36-37 AMP)   We are all Sowers and reapers in the sight of God. It is a responsibility He has offered unto us for our own good. For a long time, we may have thought that Jesus meant God was the sower, but by reading through and juxtaposing one scripture with another you'd realize that that was only what we thought. Men are the Sowers, and men are the Reapers; all God does is give the increase (1 Cor 3:16). It is our duty of love to take the gospel to the ends of the earth until men not only hear about this word of life, but also believe and receive it. Thousands may have heard the gospel, but record is taken into account in heaven onl

DAILY VITAMIN - There Is No Shame In Waiting "Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it." (Psalm 37:34 AMP) Waiting on the Lord is never a vain exercise; nor a waste of time, because God will always do what He has promised to do. And so we don't wait unto frustration but unto manifestations. In it, we are equipped with all the grace to be resilient as eagles (Isaiah 40:31) so as not to lose any ground by Him who is able to cause us to have everything we could ever need (2 Cor 9:8). If this be so, then why do we shriek at the place of waiting for God? I know God has given you promises, and perhaps they haven't all come true yet, nevertheless that's not a reason to fret, but one to rejoice in; because God's promises can all but stay unfulfilled as long as we are where and doing what He expects of us. Let these words of His through Isaiah encou

DAILY VITAMIN - Move Beyond Wishing "By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), and [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength". (Ephesians 1:18-19 AMP) Many people wish they could do many things. They wished they could go to an Ivy League College, own a house on the French Riviera, marry a great spouse, and so on and so forth. It seems kind of harmless, right? Since as we say it is just a wish. Well, wishing for what you don't have may be harmless, but when all is yours, it is stupid. The scriptures tell us that all things are ours (1 Cor 3:21-23), because God has made us sit in heaven in Christ far above all powers (Eph 2:6), having blessed us with all the ble

DAILY VITAMIN - Disobedience Kills "But [Neco] sent ambassadors to [Josiah], saying, What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war; and God has commanded me to make haste. Refrain from opposing God, Who is with me, lest He destroy you. Yet Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not heed the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight with him in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded". (2 Chronicles 35:21-23 AMP) Nothing ruins a man before God faster than disobedience. It doesn't matter what our identities are, disobedience will make any man fall. Look at the first men, Adam and Eve, made in the perfect beauty of the Lord's love and rooted in His endless blessings, but because of this fatal flaw they lost everything that was their

DAILY VITAMIN - You Will Beat This Condition "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up- the flames will consume you" (Isaiah 43:2 TLB). What an awesome news it is to know that no matter how hard times may get, we will always come forth as more than conquerors. Being more than a conqueror means being way better at the end than we were at the beginning. It is not going to be an escape, or a mere survival strategic success; it is going to be a conquest. He says that we are going to completely overcome our hardest circumstances. He promises to give us the capacity to beat the great troubles that may attempt to cause us to sink into despair and acute distress. He promises to help us stay afloat when the floods of difficulty overwhelm our everyday life. He says we won't drown, and neither would we strive; but tha

DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Help You (2) "Let Him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you" (1 Peter 5:7 TLB) The most comforting words that can be said to any man is that ''Jesus knows about your troubles, and He feels your pain, but most importantly that He cares for you''. To a lot of people, it might seem like a regular cliché they are tired of listening to, but to those embedded in the truth of the Word which I presume you and I should be counted among by His grace, it should be an ever coolant to fuse out the sorrows, pain, and burden we bear as if it was never there. The Bible says when Jesus saw the widow of Nain, though they had no previous acquaintance, but on seeing her predicament, He felt her pain, and it was recorded ..''He had compassion on her'' (Luke 9:13), and said to her 'weep not'. And the aftermath of His compassionate words was a healing that tu

DAILY VITAMIN - Who Can Understand The Lord Completely? "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, that instruction might be given Him? Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:13-14 AMP) There is a character God exhibits that I believe all men should also be careful of, in order not to jump into conclusions about Him. And this character is the Unpredictability of God. You see, it is an easy task to guess what a man would do next after a series of study about him; It is also easier to guess what animals and plants would do next after a series of experiment with them. In fact, it is easy as well to guess what the devil would do next after several encounters with him, but no matter how much study we have done of God - whether millennial or centurial studies, we can never easily say what He might do next....He remains a Mystery unto the wi

DAILY VITAMIN - Be Courageous, And Take A Step "He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus." (Matthew 14:29 AMP) Most times, all we have to do to see the product or the end point of our faith is just to take a step. This is because while all things are possible, only the ones you believe are enough to act towards will be possible for you. For instance, when Peter and John saw the lame man, and declared wholeness into his life in the name of Christ Jesus, they took a step before they saw in physical the end product of their faith. That is, their lifting up the man, who had no fitted legs as to walk was a sign of faith on their part (Acts 3:7) , while the leaping up of the paralyzed was a sign on his part (vs 8). Note, the Word of God was given to you and I by the inspiration of God, whether centuries ago, or just last night; but note as well, it wasn't given to just inspire you; No! It was given also to transform you-

DAILY VITAMIN - God will Help You (1) "I am holding you by your right hand- I, the Lord your God- and I say to you, Don't be afraid; I am here to help you. Despised though you are, fear not, O Israel; for I will help you..." (Isaiah 41:13-14 TLB) We are never alone; neither are we ever forsaken. It doesn't matter how hard things may get, we can be rest assured that we have help coming. And God has made Himself responsible to make it happen. Isaiah 41 says "When the poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I will answer when they cry to me. I, Israel's God, will not ever forsake them. I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus...In the deserts will be pools of water, and rivers fed by springs shall flow across the dry, parched ground. I will plant trees...on barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is God who did it..." (Isaiah 41:17-20 TLB). Can you believe that? Your l

DAILY VITAMIN - Delay Is Never Denial With God "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB). Many a times, it is usually very easy how we unanimously agree that God has forsaken us when things don't go our way even when we were confident that we had His backing that it would. But guess what? One thing I have learned over time, and one thing the Bible consistently and continuously teaches is that God will never leave nor forsake His own in their time of need (Hebrews 13:5). The scriptures call Him the very present help in times of need (Psalm 46:1). Now, if this be so, then what happened to the people of Israel as they marched against their brother city of Gibeah? In Judges 20, after the Benjaminites had condoned a despicable act

DAILY VITAMIN - It Will Be " He carries out and fulfills all of God's promises, no matter how many of them there are..." (2 Corinthians 1:20 TLB) The Bible says that God is able to complete all that He has begun in your life (Phil 1:6). As such, that means that you are not intended to live a half-baked life. God is going to perfect His already perfect recipe on you. Ephraim, we are told, as a tribe appeared half-baked (see Hosea 7:8-9); but not the redeemed man in Christ- for we are COMPLETE in Him who has the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:10). Anyway, here is the part I want you to concern yourself with today. In The Living Bible translation of that verse, we are told that God "...will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day WHEN JESUS CHRIST RETURNS". Wow! Did you get that? What He means there is that there is so much in you to be seen and explored than you know. It is like what S

DAILY VITAMIN - Winning With God "All nations (the surrounding tribes) compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord I will cut them off! They compassed me about, yes, they surrounded me on every side; but in the name of the Lord I will cut them off!" (Psalm 118:10-11 AMP) Sometimes, the challenges we face may pose a great threat to our faith; and as such lasso us into a state of endless panicky and fretting. However, I want you to know that the same thing happened to Hezekiah. The Assyrians had the numbers, the weaponry, the expertise of war, the confidence, and the ravaging countenance on their faces; but it didn't mean that they had the advantage. They had told the people of Judah that God couldn't save them nor could any man help them because they [the Assyrians] had never lost a war before. Well, while the statistics may have sounded right from a distance, it doesn't mean they were right. In our own lives, we have almost, if not, the same kind of adver

DAILY VITAMIN - Spread The Word "Until I get there, read and explain the Scriptures to the church; preach God's Word." (1 Timothy 4:13 TLB) Every believer is called to be a Sower of the seed. Just like how cutting down a tree is much easier and less time consuming than the process of planting one, refuting the Word is easier than spreading it. In fact, doing nothing might be enough to refute the Word that had been received by the public, but it's never enough for spreading it. Spreading the Word is a conscious act, and a very important one at that, and that's why Jesus emphatically urges us to go and preach it in as many places and direction as possible. God's Word is a seed; and without being planted, the world would eventually die of impoverishment. God’s Word is the only hope this world has. This is because the only way to change the world is to spread the Word. It is the only way to know where true salvation and peace lies- God. The Bible says "C

DAILY VITAMIN - Jesus Will Give You Rest "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15) Complaining has never done any man good other than reminding him of far away he is from the ideal life he presumes should be his. In fact, there is actually one thing complaining does- it reveals just how much doubt you have in God. And that's why He loathes complaining and murmuring, because it reflects doubt rather than faith. However, how does this then affect us? Every time we complain or murmur, we get bitten (Numbers 21:5-6). Every time we let it rule over us, we let doubt sink us under, thereby keeping us from realities that were and could have been ours. So, how do we overcome these bites and retrograding occurrences the compliant syndrome brings? God gave the answer as the only way out to the Israelis. And that is, by looking unto the One who was hung for our sakes- Jesus; for as many as look unto Him live.

DAILY VITAMIN - You Are Blessed! "You are not to curse them, for I have blessed them!" (Numbers 22:12 TLB) When the Bible speaks of how we are no longer under a curse, but have been redeemed by grace, many a person don't still understand how extreme it is. Well, let me show you. As the Lord took Israel from one conquest to another, a fear gripping king sought for a way to distort their progress. So, he had a council meeting with the leaders of Midian, and decided to have a prophet curse Israel so as to impede their growth and success rate. They went to Balaam the seer with money in order to coax him into performing the act, but God would not let him. They came again with a greater amount of treasure for him, but God sternly warned him against it. Again and again, they increased the reward and made the conditions of his work more favourable, but God would not permit it saying, "There shall be no enchantment against Jacob, and no divination against Israel" (

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