The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN - Praising God Through The Pain "Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit; though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18 TLB) Philippians 3:1 says "Whatever happens, dear friends, be glad in the Lord." Most times we don't understand the extremity of some of the things we find in scripture. For instance, when we read things like "And Abraham staggered not through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." (Romans 4:20), a lot of us assume " Well, anybody could have done that!" Well, guess what? It can be done, but anybody can. It takes a man who trusts God beyond the face of circumstances to be able to praise Him through the pain. Do you know how it feels to be barren? Unless you are or have

  DAILY VITAMIN - Attack The Enemy "until someone stronger and better armed attacks and overcomes him and strips him of his weapons and carries off his belongings" (Luke 11:22 TLB) The Bible says we wrestle against spiritual forces of darkness in this world (Eph 6:12); so when I speak of the enemy, I speak of those ones, and not your human counterparts. Our God is not a passive being; and that's why every time He destroyed enemy camps in scripture, He swept through them. Isaiah paints a great picture of this. He says 'When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of God will lift up a standard against them (Isaiah 59:19). A flood isn't passive. It attacks its target, and swallows it up. That's exactly how light conquers darkness. It doesn't wait for it to be attacked first; it attacks until all darkness fades away. For instance, go into a dark room now and switch on the bulbs. You will find that the light that permeates from that luminary drives the dark

  DAILY VITAMIN - Never Get Tired Of Praying "And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9 TLB) Your prayers are never in vain. The scripture says that even while we are yet speaking, He has heard us, and before we even ask a thing, He has answered us (Isaiah 65:24); yet He still tells us to ask. And He says as many as call upon Him, He will save. Remember, he never ignore the prayer of those in need (Psalm 102:17). In our theme scripture, Jesus had given an analogy about how we must continue persistently in prayer, because most times that is all we need to receive the manifestation of what we seek--continuity and persistence in prayer. The fact that a thing hasn't showed up doesn't mean it won't.  By prayer, we can facilitate its arrival speedily. Yes, by consistent prayers, we can. Let's consider some examples. Take Daniel for instance; he kn

 DAILY VITAMIN - In Christ We Trust "Everyone who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous [justified]—something the Jewish law could never do” (Acts 13:38–39 TLB) Our theme scripture assures us that forgiveness of sin can be found in Christ, and as many as trust in Him have been set free forever from the shackles of sin and death. This is Good News indeed. This proves many things, but today we'll discuss just two. First, it proves that you have entirely no reason to be afraid of the future anymore. Those who are not saved may assume that uncertainty is the only thing in life, but not you. Your future is certain. For starters, you know you have a place in God already. You know that having trusted in Him, old things are things are passed away, and all things are new. And if that isn't certainty enough, then I don't know what else is. Second, it proves that the message we spread in the Name of Jesus is entirely truth, and must never be ceased to be d

 DAILY VITAMIN - Your Roses Will Bloom Again "For the needy shall not alway be forgotten, nor the expectation of the poor perish for ever" (Psalm 9:18) The scripture assures us that a time of rejoicing awaits us yet on this earth. It says that though weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). What that means in agreement with what our theme verse says is that it is not over for you even when others think or say it is. Consider Joseph. He was sold into slavery with the expectation to bury his glory, but even there in captivity God hearkened to him, and elevated him to a high place. In the same way, your boss may have dismissed you unjustly leaving you without a means to pay the bills, but don't fret. He might have changed his mind about you, but God won't, and He will take care of you. It may seem like your petals are falling off, but very soon He will light upon you and they will bloom again. Psalm 9:9 says "All who are oppressed may

  DAILY VITAMIN - Look And Live "For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live" (Amos 5:4) The hymn writer said "I have a message from the Lord...a message unto you I bring." And in that little message of his, he tells us that if we look to Jesus, we'd live; with an illustrative imagery as that which happened in the wilderness where the serpent-bitten Jews beheld the Nehushtan. In the same way, even today, if we'd look unto Him, He'd cause us to live. You see, God has never been as merciful as He is today, because His lovingkindness and faithfulness toward us are newer with each morning (Lamentation 3:37). So, no matter what your troubles are, look to Him and He'd cause you to live. 2021 was a challenging year for me. The devil came hard; he tried to take my life twice, but on both occasions God proved the stronger. I had a terrible episode of pneumonia; so bad that I could almost feel what it felt like to die. Imme

 DAILY VITAMIN - After Here, Where Next? "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrew 9:27) More than a year ago to this date, on the 20th of October 2020, Nigeria witnessed one of its worst moments in recent history, where some unarmed protesters were gunned down. One of the most painful part was that they were just fine young men and women; some with good jobs and others from good families who only wanted a better society. That night I had been on leave from work, and was just some kilometers from the site; but when we heard what happened, and saw how people grieved, it hurt because a lot of other angry young fellows began to believe death as an irrelevant thing. But is it? A life lost pains God (Ezekiel 18:23); that's to tell us that death isn't just nothing. However, we can live above death, but that comes only to those who are saved in Christ. Because to these, death becomes only a passage to true life--regardless of where an

 DAILY VITAMIN - Walking In His Shoes "...because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17) Jesus said "As my Father sent me, so I am sending you" (John 20:21). In these simple words, Jesus was indulging us to continue in His office; to keep moving from where He presumably stopped on the earth. The only thing is that He'd be the One working in us, through us and with us (Mark 16:20).  And what is Christ's office? The Way to salvation. So with the help of His Holy Spirit, we also guide others into salvation as He did, but now in His name. And we do this by preaching the Word in and out of season, doing the will of God at all times, and representing the Kingdom in all places, until men are drawn unto God. Remember, we are diplomats for Christ on the earth (2 Cor 5:20). Thus, when people see us, they should literally see Jesus. The Bartimaeuses of this world should find hope when they see Jesus in us. The Zacchaeuses of this world should surrender all t

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Shall Prevail "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17) The scripture says "...Because you have been strong with God, you shall prevail with men" (Genesis 32:28 TLB). That wasn't a prayer, it is a principle. God was giving Jacob the reason why He was going to bless him as promised. He was setting the conditions for divine upliftment. The Bible says a man who trusts and reverence the LORD in spite of circumstances shall have prosperity and happiness (Psalm 128:1-2 TLB). Our wisdom doesn't impress God (Job 33:24). No, it really doesn't. Only our decision does. The devil is said to be wise in his own way, as well as many of earth's sages; so wisdom isn't the way to God's heart. But those who do what God wants and devise w

  DAILY VITAMIN - Abraham's Blessings Are Yours "So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, and you will be given what God has promised." (Gal 3:29 CEV) I remember how growing up we would sing that song every day both at church and sometimes in school. "Abraham's blessings are mine," we would sing. And thank God we did, because it wasn't just a song, it is our truth.  The Bible says that "...all who trust in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received." (Gal 3:8-9 TLB). No exemptions. All of us in Christ. Well, you might want to say "but how come? I'm racially a minority; or I'm from a poor family. How could I possibly be blessed that greatly?" The scripture says that all in union with Christ have been enveloped by Him (Gal 3:27); hence the life in all of us have no colour nor social status (v.28). There's no black nor white; poor nor rich; just Christ's. And as a result, everything God g

 DAILY VITAMIN - Be A Cheerful Giver "Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift]." (2 Corinthians 9:7 AMP) Never forget that it isn't just giving that moves God, but giving cheerfully.  Anybody can give; but not everybody can give right. A lot of people give with ulterior motives, but only a few truly give with their hearts in their giving. Jesus spoke of a few Jews who gave abundant coins to the treasury of the temple, but still it had no value, possibly because they were only giving to have people cheer them; and to these He says they have received their reward. Because they didn't give as God expected them to, they received nothing from Him. Because they gave amiss, His blessing missed them. But He also spoke of a woman in the same chapter who gave less than a penny, and still praised her because it was

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Stop Telling It "We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20 NLT) The Bible tells us that the apostles had been spreading the Gospel of Christ after they were filled with the Holy Ghost; and on this day on their way to pray, Peter and John healed a 40 years old man that had been lame from birth. In the light of this, they continued publishing the testimony of Jesus, but were soon arraigned by the Jewish leaders who threatened them to stop telling people of Christ Jesus.  Even in the face of death, they yet testified of Jesus to these folks (Acts 4:8-12). And seeing they could not deny the evident truth, they thought to use fear as a weapon against the apostles (v.13-18). But the apostles asked them if it was right to obey them instead of God who had called to spread the Good News of Christ to the world around (v.19) (see Mark 16:15). And then they said in tandem, "We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we

 DAILY VITAMIN - Wait For God; He Will Rescue You "Hope in the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it." (Psalm 37:34 NIV) The scripture tells us that they that wait upon the LORD shall be made strong (Isaiah 40:31). It may appear as though the opposite is occurring, but all of a sudden, it opens up for all to see the blessings that such a man will receive. You may have been expecting the LORD to come to rescue; well, I'm here to tell you that your expectation will not be cut off. You have cried to the LORD, He will heed your call.  In James 5:13, the Bible says if anyone is suffering, let him pray. A lot of people don't pray when hardships surround them, and as such remain incapable to break free. Isaiah spoke of such people. He said they are oppressed, depressed and repressed, yet none ever say "Restore" (42:22). That is, none ever cries out to God to save them. Remember Jesus said everyo

  DAILY VITAMIN - We Are Messengers From Heaven "So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT) It is revealed in scripture that God can use anything to do His work. John the Baptist even once mused that He could use stones; and with Balaam we saw Him use a donkey to teach the obstinate prophet. Anyway, more frequently we will notice in scripture that for every time men were converted to godliness or corrected, God either did so Himself or sent " messengers from heaven ".  In Job 33:14-18, we are told that God speaks again and again....opening in the ears of men to give them wisdom and instruction to change their minds, warning them of the penalties of sin, and to keep them from falling. However, we are told that often times these men don't budge; "but if a messenger from heaven is there to intercede for him as a friend, to show him what is right, then

 DAILY VITAMIN - You Have Overcome Satan "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:13) The scripture tells us that we have overcome the devil and all his evil works; for it is written that God has placed him under our feet (Romans 16:20). However, knowing he has been defeated, he still tries to creep into our lives again in order to manipulate and oppress us; and this he does through sin.  Every time the devil tempts us to sin, it is because he wants to seize our dominion over him; for while righteousness exalts us above him, sin is a reproach (Proverbs 14:34). Consider Adam's case. And just like Adam, every sin we can ever commit revolves around the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life; for that is the devil's tool to bring us into enmity with God (1 John 2:15-16).  For instance, in his temptation of Christ, we see these thre

DAILY VITAMIN - You Are Covered "We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods." (Psalm 91:1 TLB) Picture a day when it's raining cats and dogs. I imagine in that scenery you'd find some people without an umbrella or a shelter running helter-skelter looking for where to hide their lovely heads, while those in shelters or perhaps even under an umbrella not giving a care in the world because they can't be touched. Well, that's how it is in life as well. The fellow without God God has nowhere to run to when he no longer becomes enough hope for himself. He is lost and skips from pillar to post in pursuit of solace and relief. But not us who have the LORD on our side. The scripture calls Him a strong tower, and as a result we in Him are safe and secure.  Our theme scripture says we are living in His shadows; as such what cannot harm Him can't harm us. That is why it would be sad to see a believer frightened by the same th

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Doubt God "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) A lot of us run with the ideology that seeing is believing, but Jesus tells us that with God it isn't. Believing is believing. Luke speaks about this with a simple illustration. He gave us the story of the encounter Zacharias had with angel Gabriel. The LORD had sent Gabriel to deliver His promise to Zacharias, but as soon as he heard it, he refuted that it was impossible on the basis of his present condition, and along with the promise as a result came a curse of muteness until the child was born (Luke 1:11-20). Then he tells us of Mary who received the same message, and though sought to know the mechanism for its manifestation, both got an answer for her troubles and the promise intact (v. 26-38). While Zacharias doubted God in pure unbelief, Mary was simply uncertain, and as soon a

  DAILY VITAMIN - Our Identity Has Been Restored "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV) The theme scripture says we are the righteousness of God. The term 'the righteousness of God' means the very image of God. That means that when God looks at us, He sees Himself. He sees His qualities. And how is this so? Christ restored our identity.  You see, when Adam fell, he lost two things--his authority and identity. However, while God restored man's authority in Genesis 9, his identity was still lost. He was still mere flesh and nothing more. But even with his restored authority. he still couldn't use it against the devil that much. The Bible says that a slave can't be greater than the master; and since the devil had become man's master because of sin, he couldn't exercise any dominion over him. That's why no man could cast out a demon in the Old Testament. Go s

DAILY VITAMIN - Grow Your Mind "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7) The first thing I would like to tell you today is that true success begins in the mind. Never forget that. Our theme verse says "as a man thinks, so he is". Thus, you can never outgrow your mind. Your potential is tied to the elasticity of your mind. To outgrow your present situation, you have got to outgrow your present mentality. Your mindset is your resident permit for certain conditions. That is, an impoverished mindset can't find itself residing in an affluent condition. It's got to grow. Take for instance; God had the land of Promise set on a platter of gold for the children of Israel, yet many couldn't enter because of unbelief. Do you know what unbelief is? It is a state of mind that tells you reassuringly that nothing is possible. First, we see them call the adversary giants and themselves grasshoppers, devaluing their chances of victory, unless you'v

   DAILY VITAMIN -  The Lord Will Give You Strength "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." (Habakkuk 3:19) Something spectacular happened in the life of Gideon that relates to us how extraordinarily God is willing to work in and through us. The Bible says when he and his men chased their adversaries, they became faint, yet they pursued still (Judges 8:4). With that faintness they kept going from one town to another until they caught up with the enemy. Now the question is, where did the strength to go on come from? Isaiah 40:31 tells us. It says that they that  wait upon  the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. The words  wait upon  represents trust; so those who trust the Lord will always find unusual strength to go on. Gideon trusted God. He never looked the part of a great warrior, bu