The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

DAILY VITAMIN - A Clean Slate Through The Cross "He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, any now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you- nothing left that he could even chide you for" (Colossians 1:22 TLB)      The day you became born again, all the records to your disadvantage were erased (Colossians 2:13-15). He said there's nothing left anymore to accuse you of. Let's look at it this way; imagine a man who was jailed on a count that has three life sentences attached to it as judgment being called into the same court after a week to be told, without any self-acquired evidence of his innocence (because he never was), that he has been declared innocent and free. It's odd, right?      Because if there were no evidences, what justified him? Well, the judge who made the ruling has the same power to overrule that judgment. He has the ri

DAILY VITAMIN - All My Blessings Are In Christ "Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can't; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory." (Colossians 1:16 TLB)      The scripture says that Christ created all that is in heaven and all that is on earth. Remember, He wasn't created, but was and has always been eternally existent in God as the Word, physically incarnate in the man Jesus. The same scripture goes on to say that He is the creator of the things we can see and those we can't yet see- the creator of all realities.      What this means is that the realities you anticipate are resident in Christ. Recall that all our divine possibilities are present in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). So, you don't have to look too far for the change of level experience you desired; it's in Christ. And Christ is

DAILY VITAMIN - Walking In Abundance "And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory, because of what Christ Jesus has done for us" (Phil 4:19 TLB)     According to our theme scripture, we can depict that God has a treasure house, a store room full of riches. Now it all makes sense what is said in Malachi 3:10 about how He will pour down sufficient measures of riches for us from His store room. So, yes, God has a store room of abundant wealth. Well, the better news is that it is there just for you. Paul tells us that now that are Christians, practising the very Life He has called us to, there is a pool of riches God supplies us from. He called it "His riches in glory".       In other words, it is endless, ceaseless; and better still it glorifies the recipients always. And this you have access to. Anyway, now that the access is guaranteed, how do we experience it in real time? In the same letter, Paul said "Always be full of joy in

DAILY VITAMIN - Counting On Christ Alone "And become one with him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God's laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith - counting by Christ alone" (Phil 3:9 TLB).      It is absurd to think that we can be saved by anything we do without what Christ has done. He is the reason why we even have a life that can experience the very nature of God (John 1:3-4). Let me also say this; we aren't saved because we obey God, we obey God because we are saved. And we are saved because of Christ. Before Him, we couldn't have dreamed of any of this. He made it possible - He identified with us to redeem us completely, and facilitates our identification in Him so that we can claim His victory.      Yes, my friend, this is where our victory truly begins- in trusting Him for our salvation. "But all these things that I once thought very worthwh

DAILY VITAMIN - Tarry In Prayer "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17)     When things don't appear to change, stay on your knees. Keep praying. This was the prescription Jesus gave His disciples - "Watch and Pray" He said. In Jeremiah 42, the remnant of the captivity came to Jeremiah to seek guidance from the Lord; however God didn't respond until after ten full days. But what do you think Jeremiah was doing in those ten days? Daniel gives us a better picture.     The scripture says Daniel remained in prayer for three weeks as long as he hadn't seen the results he expected. So using that as our clue, we can also suggest Jeremiah remained in prayer. Now, are you also seeking guidance from God? Then keep watching and waiting in prayer. You may not know what to say, but the Spirit helps us in prayer (Romans 8:27), and He will help you. What's important is that after you have heard His response, you do well to obey it. The people said we know that

DAILY VITAMIN - You've Got The Higher Life " I have given you power over serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm you" (Luke 10:19)      Demons do have the power to kill, steal and destroy. Revelations 9:15 proves it. Yet it doesn't mean they can-or should-destroy you- the man in Christ. Our opening verse assures us of that. And this is why; we have been placed in a realm of authority and dominion far above their base of operations. Though we may have to engage in battle, but we already conquered. Yes, remember we are now identified in-and with-Christ, and where Christ is is where we are as a result. And where is Christ? Seated in power far above all principalities and powers (Eph 1:20-23). In other words, since Christ is seated far above, we are far above, as long as we stand in our proper position in God.      And so, how they respond to Jesus is how they ought to respond to us. The scripture says they

DAILY VITAMIN - The Eternal Principle "...If you do as I tell you to and follow all of my commandments and instructions, I will do what I told your father David I would do" (1 Kings 6:11-12 TLB)      In the opening scripture, God was literally telling Solomon that if he did all He asked him to, He would do all He said He would. This is an eternal principle. All through scripture, that has been God's outlined principle - the more we do what He demanded, the more He does what we expected. Proverbs 13:13 says "Despise God's Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed" (TLB). Even prophecy is keyed on this divine concept.     You must have heard me say in my books that prophecies are conditional; well, they are. The very scriptures prove this. For instance, in Zechariah 6:15, God said that the promised reality He had shown them will come to be if only they keep obeying Him. This is congruent, because disobedience gives the devil the room to usu

DAILY VITAMIN - The Spirit Of Life "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11)      The Holy Spirit is the life of God in expression. And I mean true life, eternal life. When God wanted to breed life on the earth, He sent His Spirit to brood upon it. When He wanted to give life to the soul of man, He put His breath [Spirit] into him. In other words, the Holy Spirit is a transfigurator of the life God possesses. Our theme verse says it all.      It tells us that He raised Jesus from the shallows of death, and still rejuvenates the life of Christ in all who believe. And believe me this should excite you. Really, it should. Remember, God's blessings towards His people are always beyond spiritual (3 John 2). So, the Holy Spirit isn't only in you to sustain your spiritual life; He is there to also augment your

DAILY VITAMIN - Guaranteed For Glory "...Those who believe in him (Jesus) will never be disappointed" (Romans 9:33 TLB)      Our theme scripture was actually rooted out from Isaiah 28:16 where God promised a sure foundation to build His people upon. This is that very foundation that makes the gates of hell travail in defeat before the church (saints of God). This foundation was designed to transform His people from slaves to conquerors; from victims to victors; from needing to giving. And in Christ, this has been fulfilled.     Jesus is the foundation of God that brings the light of God’s promises to manifestation. All His promises are fulfilled in Him; we receive them as we believe Him. In fact, the moment God gave us Jesus, He made us qualified to be glorified. The scripture says that through His work, God lifted us from the gory grave into His gorgeous glory (Ephesians 2:5-6). Do your know what that means for you?     Well if you did, I'm sure you'd be as

DAILY VITAMIN - God Knows What The Future Holds "You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book!" (Psalm 139:16 TLB)     God knows the future even before we began the present. He knows the end from where you stand. He knew where you'd be born just as distinctly as He knows where you'd live out all phases of your life. He is in all ways well informed and well aware about the details of your life- past, present, and futuristic.     I know most people believe that Moses could have entered the Promised Land if he hadn't struck the rock, the same way they told Jesus the man with congenital blindness was a product of his parents' misdeeds. But Jesus educated them with the truth; which is for God's wisdom to be displayed. The same people say that if Adam hadn't sinned, Jesus would never have died; but scripture says He was slain even before the foundation of the earth was l

DAILY VITAMIN - You Are Loved With An Eternal Love "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39)        God so loved the world that in spite of its depravity He didn't give up on them. Understand that the world spoken of in John 3:16 is the people, and not this earthly globe. What this means is that, it doesn't matter how deep your loved ones may have gotten lost, God isn't planning on giving up on them. Remember, His will is to save all men- even them (1 Tim 2:4). In the same way, He's not planning on letting you get lost. He said no one can snatch His sheep out of His hands; and you are that sheep. That's how extreme His love goes.      John 13:1 says that "having loved them, He loved them to the end". In other words, God has no leftover love to give. He has made all His love expressible and available towards you. And this He proved thr

DAILY VITAMIN - You Won Before You Came "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Romans 8:30)        Remember what Paul said; we have been placed far above all powers of the enemy (Ephesians 1:19-21; 2:6). What a victory! The scriptures say we had been booked for glorification even before we were born. Like was said of Jeremiah "...ordained a prophet in thy mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5). It is a preordained arrangement by the Father for the exaltation of all His saints. So we won even before we were born. We were victorious before we came here. We were successes set on sail before we even started.       That's what the eternal transaction of Christ affords us. And now like Him, the enemy has nothing on us. You may look at your past and say "How can it be? I don't deserve it. It can't just be that I'm born to be victorious witho

DAILY VITAMIN - Supernatural Wisdom Just For You "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God" (Ephesians 3:10)       God's will is to reveal His wisdom to this world and that beyond through you. That's what that scripture says. You are the church, not some building. And He calls it manifold (supernatural, extranormal) wisdom. Little wonder why Paul said the angels are always shell-shocked as they watch God's display through His apostles. He terms it a spectacle.       That's what you are to all of creation - a spectacle; they wait each moment to be captivated by God's revelation through you (Romans 8:19). The scripture calls Christ the power and wisdom of God in display (1 Corinthians 1:24); and it also says as He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). So we are by the ordination of our New Birth also the fullness of God's power and wisdom. The same wi

DAILY VITAMIN - Under His Mighty Hand "Truly, O God of Israel, Saviour, you work in strange, mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15 TLB)       God still does wonders. And the scripture tells us that we are ordained daily beneficiaries of these great mysteries in display (Psalm 68:19). The evil one may have hunted you down, but harming you isn't something he can easily do at will, for the Lord will always raise a standard against their wrath to your victory. A standard they will never be able to meet (Isaiah 59:19).      For instance, having instructed Jeremiah and Baruch to correspond His messages to Jerusalem in writing, everyone realized their need to return to God, except the king. Instead, in reaction to it, he burnt the scroll, downsized the rights of the two men responsible, and began a search for them in order to incarcerate them. But here's the part I like; regardless of how hard or how long they sought, they couldn't find them, because God hid them (Jerem

DAILY VITAMIN - The Power Of Praise "And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten." (2 Chro 20:22)       The Disciples knew the power of praise and worship; and this they learned from Jesus. Notice what Jesus did when He got to Lazarus' tomb; He gave glory to God, and the dead man came walking. When He got the five loaves, He gave glory to God for them, and it fed thousands. Praise is a great tool on the lips of those who know how to give it.       When we praise God, we create platforms to be raised. When we do it, we open up portals of abundant and supernatural happenings for ourselves in this mortal time. In prayer, we fight, but in praise we celebrate. When we praise God, we walk out of the battlefield to let God go in and win the victory on our behalfs. And just as the apostles made the best out of it then, we also can relish in its

DAILY VITAMIN - Developing Skill "...God presented David to his people as their shepherd and he cared for them with a true heart and skillful hands" (Psalm 78:71-72 TLB)       The scriptures say that God picked David from the sheepcote to lead His people. However, we always fail to recognize that the sheepcote was intended to be a training ground for David - a place to hone and develop his skills for leadership. Just like Moses, as he learned to effectively lead sheep, he also had gained capacity in one level to lead mankind. David might have had a calling for leadership - a potential for it, but until he built capacity for it, it couldn't come to be. The opportunities in events God placed before him was to prepare him in anticipation of what was to come. And that is exactly what He’s doing with you too.       Let me tell you this: There are two things we can learn from this narrative as imposed upon us by that scripture; (1) Having a great call is completely diff

DAILY VITAMIN - Impossible Is Nothing "Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)        A popular brand's slogan reads "Impossible is Nothing". Well, if God were to have one too, that would be it; and He proved it far too many times in scripture, but today we'd look at how He did to Jeremiah firsthand. Let's do a quick recap:       For years God had been telling the prophet that Jerusalem would be captured and destroyed, and this had landed him in the palace's cell. However, in what seemed like a month before the great fall of Jerusalem, God informed him of a great property in the city He wanted him to acquire. But with such fate awaiting the city, the acquisition of such property would be a disastrous enterprise, at least so thought Jeremiah. And so he took this brilliant argument to God. And then in the serenity of that scenery, God would utter those words in our theme scripture.      

DAILY VITAMIN  - Loving The Lord, Loving His Church  "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt 22:37-39)      Have you ever wondered why the scriptures never tells us to fear the Lord with all our hearts and mind, but rather to love? Well, it's because love is a greater force than fear. Fear brings torment, and God doesn't desire us to be tormented in His presence, but to be liberated. Fear may compel obedience once in a while, but only love can bring delightsome obedience.       In other words, God wants us to obey Him not because if we don't we'll perish, but because we now love Him. Because He understands that there can never be true fellowship where fear exists, He calls for us to embrace love.      Now, what does it mean to love God? This is simply to put Him first. To be yielded to H

DAILY VITAMIN - The Power Of The Word (2) "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power" (Luke 4:32)       Romans 5:10 tells us that if God was good to us while we were sinners and ignorant, how much more will He be to us now that we are saved? The scriptures affirm this by saying that no eyes have seen nor any ear heard what God has prepared for such as loved Him enough to believe and obey Him (1 Cor 2:9). However, this He reveals to us, and bring into delivery, via the Spirit of His Word. The Word of God is full of power. All things were made and sustained by and through it; and in it is contained all of God's plans and purposes for us. And again we'd be looking at these two other phenomenal things it does in our lives: (1) It reveals our status in Christ: Activity is strengthened by identity. Whatever we do has its greatest effect only as soon as we know who we are. And just as it showed Christ as was written of Him, it shows us as

DAILY VITAMIN - The Power Of The Word (1) "For the Word of God is quick and powerful...." (Hebrew 4:12)      In God's Word is sufficient power to turn any situation around. Even the Bible says that through it Jesus casted out devils, overcame adversity and healed all sort of illnesses (Matt 8:16). So, it is limitless in its capacity to influence circumstances. Little wonder why half the scripture is full of God's admonition to indulge ourselves in knowing and keeping the Word- the very Word of life that transforms as many as see it, hear it and handle it; and in this part of this series, we'd look at some diverse ways in which the Word can positively affect us to the glory of God: 1. It brings Understanding: David said "I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation" (Psalm 119:99 RSV). And how could he say such a thing when even the scripture says that the student can never be greater than the master? Well,