The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN - Count On God Alone "But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone." (Psalm 62:5 TLB) The world may have many options, but we the children of God have only one option. One that works. And all we have is God, and so all we do must be according to His pleasure and will. Others may put their hopes in other devices, but ours is only upon the LORD. That's what David practiced and teaches us to; and he said it's because He ONLY is our rock and salvation. He ONLY is our true defense, glory and strength (v.6-7) And so therefore, we must trust in Him and rely upon Him first (v.8). You see, this is important because no man can help except God helps you first (Psalm 60:11-12). It is His help that makes other things count and successful. And then he tells us not to try and do it our own way--that is finding shortcuts that may eventually cut us short, because they always do (Isaiah 50:10-11). And not on our

  DAILY VITAMIN - Stay On Path With God "And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans." (Romans 8:28 TLB) Please just drink from that scripture some more. It is telling us that things may not seem great presently; your past may not have been terrific, nor your background appealing, but with God it will work out for your good. That is, you'll end as God already declared you to--better than your yesterday. Nothing can change it; not your current circumstances nor your future challenges because what God has done, He does in terms of forever (Eccl 3:14). However, please pay attention: this isn't for everyone. Though the KJV makes it seem like it is for all He has called in the name of Christ, but the NLT shows that it is to those who stay on the path of God's leading. Those who are living in line with His purpose for them--doing all He requires of them; because as long as you stay on path doing all God s

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Holy Spirit Is The New Testament In You "He is the one who has helped us tell others about his new agreement to save them...The old way, trying to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, ends in death; in the new way, the Holy Spirit gives them life." (2 Cor 3:6 TLB) The blood of Christ was the price for a better covenant; but what was this covenant? God fully resident in us, that we may be one with Him as new creatures fulfilling His will in Christ (Jer 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:27). And this is established by virtue of His Spirit in us. Little wonder why in Second Corinthians 3, Paul tells the church that they are the evidence of his apostleship to them now that they have been converted by the Spirit, and not the several letters he had written which eventually make up our biblical New Testament. And so therefore, it is not just these written words in the Bible that transform us, but the Spirit of God at work in us through His Word. That's why the eunu

  DAILY VITAMIN  - Follow Up Every Soul Won "Where they helped the believers to grow in love for God and each other. They encouraged them to continue in the faith in spite of all the persecution, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations." (Acts 14:22 TLB) God doesn't just expect us to go out and win souls alone as instructed in Matt 28:19-20. He expects us to follow up on the converts consistently until they are established in the faith. Like flowers, we must tend to them until they fully bloom. That was what Paul was doing in our theme verse, and exactly what he was admonishing the Colossian saints of (Col 2:6-7). It said "as ye have been taught," by whom? By Paul himself. He was a man who followed up on every one converted soul until they were strong and established in the faith. Now since all these things are written for our learning, it means we are expected to do the same. So don't just go out to preach and w

 DAILY VITAMIN - God Can Do Anything "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind; is there anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27 TLB) There is nothing impossible for God to do. In fact, it is stated clearly that with God all things are possible. So there's nothing you can ever desire of Him in accordance to His will that He can and will not do for you. David referred to Him as the God that performs all things (Psalm 57:2); and as a result as soon as we call unto Him, He sends help from heaven and delivers us from all our reproach (v.3). Paul calls Him the God who can do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think by His power at work in us (Eph 3:20). All we just need to do to actualize this dimension of God in our everyday lives is to stand strong in faith (Mark 9:23). Abraham did that, and in response received what was termed impossible for his family (Romans 4:17-21). When we wait on the Lord with unwavering faith, He opens up portals of impossibility breaking t

  DAILY VITAMIN - Keep Trusting God "Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong." (1 Cor 16:13 TLB) The Bible tells us that God will help us. We must only refuse to be confounded by the things we see or hear; but to stay strong, looking towards the Lord with trust like a flint. You see, a flint is a flattened rock that faces upward. Now regardless of how it rains or heats upon it, it doesn't change its direction. It keeps facing up. Likewise, come rain or shine, keep your eyes on the Lord like a flint and you will never be ashamed (Isaiah 50:7). Remember all who trust in Him will never be put to shame (Psalm 34:22); thus He won't fail you either. Things may seem hard at the moment but trust Him to come through for you, and He will. Trust in His Word and He won't disappoint you (Psalm 37:3-5). The Lord has been mindful of us, the Word says, because we trusted Him, and will bless us for it (Psalm 115:9-12). Hence, keep

  DAILY VITAMIN - Justified From All Things "Everyone who trusts in Him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous..." (Acts 13:39 TLB) Do you know what Paul meant when he said that all who believe in Christ are justified from all things (KJV)? Well, he meant a complete brand new start. No past in sin anymore, only a present in God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that old things are passed away, all things are made new. In the days of Moses, under the law, there were certain sins that required yearly offerings to have them fully atoned for, but in Christ it has been made once for all (Hebrew 9:11-14). You see, before Christ redemptive work man was bound to pay for his past sins with his future, so he barely had one, but through Jesus we have one now. A bright one at that; thereby revealing that in Him there's nothing you've done in the past that hasn't been atoned for. He did it once and for all, and justified you forever in the presence of God. You may had done thos

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Key To Prosperity “Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10 TLB) In Proverbs 30, we are told that some happenings are unsolicited yet we witness them occur on a daily basis, over and over again. About slaves becoming kings, rebels prospering and the most distasteful women still getting married (v. 21-23). If these things can happen as they do today, it then means there is nothing that can’t be done in your life. If a slave can inherit a kingdom, how much more a child of God?  Remember, you are a child of God, and poverty isn’t God’s plan for you. Our theme verse says that even lions in the prime do, but those among us who reverence God will never lack any god thing. That means no poverty, because poverty is the lack of good things. For instance, good health. But if the Lord could heal lepers, why should you stay down with some skin disease? If he could raise the dead, why can’

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Are Loaded “We have all benefitted from the rich blessings he brought to us, blessing upon blessings heaped upon us.” (John 1:16 TLB) The apostle John says because of Christ, we are bombarded with grace upon grace. That’s how the King James Versions puts it. It seems ordinary when we don’t fully comprehend what grace means, but on the contrary when we do, we’d know that it is indeed the opposite of ordinary. Grace is the greatest blessing that can ever be given. It’s the reason why God came as a man to die for us. And we are told that He abundantly gives us this same grace. It therefore means that it is impossible for you to be helpless, because grace leaves us with an abundance of help.  In the Old Testament, David was a man who had a foretaste of grace. Another was Abraham. And David said that such a man shall lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). When you see the scripture say “turn toward us O Lord and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80:7), it’s a cry for grace. They un

  DAILY VITAMIN - How To Overcome Anxiety “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.” (Philippians 4:6 TLB) Being anxious can sometimes be an inevitable thing as humans; if it wasn’t God wouldn’t teach us how to evade it. Anxiety is a momentary impulse that fills your very being with a state of fright and a belief of being bound to fail or disappointed. And it happens to even the best of us. However, we can win over the urge to be anxious. In our theme scripture, God teaches us how. We are told that when we begin to feel this feeling of insecurity, we must give ourselves to prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Unlike what many our motivational teachers proffer, words of affirmation don’t come first—at least not scripturally, prayer does. As we begin to plunge our being with word of God as we pray, our spirit gets revitalized, casting off the shadows of fear from our soul. And then we give thanks

  DAILY VITAMIN - No Evil Shall Touch You “But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you shall succeed, and you will have justice against every courtroom lie. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. This is the blessing I have given you, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17 TLB) The Bible never says that evil wouldn’t come around but it does say that we shall not be overcome by it. David said he walked through death yet it couldn’t touch him (Psalm 23:4). The same man confessed by the Spirit that this was possible because God proclaimed that no one can touch his anointed and do his prophets no harm (Psalm 105:15). That includes you as well, and it is the blessing for this day. When Isaiah said in the coming day, he meant the days after the Spirit of Christ is shed mightily upon us. And that is today, tomorrow and forever till the Lord returns. The Holy Spirit dwelling in you anoints you as a member of God’s household. So you can’t be touched, because whoever touches you touch

  DAILY VITAMIN - Believe The Word “Keep these thoughts ever in mind; let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they will mean real life for you, and radiant health.” (Pro 4:21-22 TLB) The Word hold the picture of your predestined life. What this means is that how your life may have turned out isn’t God’s will if it doesn’t agree with the Word. This is why you have to believe the Word and not the symptoms or your experiences. You might have a sharp throbbing pain in your head, fearing it to be a tumor, but don’t fear. Even if the doctors confirm it to be, don’t fear. Trust the Word. It says you will no longer be sick and helpless because God will pardon you and bless you (Isaiah 33:24). If things are hard because your country is in recession or your business is failing, don’t fret, trust the Word. It says even in heated grounds, you will dwell on high (Isaiah 33:14-16). It says because of the Lord’s grace upon you, anything you plant will bring forth beautiful results (Isaiah 33:2

  DAILY VITAMIN - Give No Place To The Devil “So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you…” (James 4:7 TLB) The more time you give to the devil, the more control over your life you hand to him. When he brings a thought or an idea to you, it has no impact on you until you brood upon it. That’s what James said (James 1:13-15). It is the thoughts inspired by Satan we give room to that eventually sprout into acts of disobedience. Thus, we are commanded to have nothing to do with him at all. Scripture says we should resist him. In other words, when we resist those thoughts of sin, like vapor they vanish. The word ‘flee’ can be translated as disperse; like a trail of smoke disperses when a strong wind passes. When we undermine these thoughts with the truth of God’s Word, they are dispersed out of our heart. When the thought to cheat flashes across your mind, remind yourself of scriptures that encourage righteousness. As you do this, your spirit enforces its w

  DAILY VITAMIN - God’s Providence Is Yours “God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more, so that there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty leftover to give joyfully” (2 Cor 9:8 TLB) When God tells us He will abundantly bless us, it’s not a promise. It is a done deal. As simple as that. In our opening verse, it is said that God is able to do it. Do what? Provide enough to meet our needs and make us helpers of other men. Then in verse 10, we are told that it is the same way He gives a farmer seeds and bless the seeds to multiply abundantly so that he can also have enough harvest to give out to others. In other words, every seed God gives is to be sown, and every harvest is to be both enjoyed and shared.  But verse 11 is where I’m going to. At first, we are told God is able to, but now, it says “Yes, God will give you much more…” It is not a probability anymore, it is His desire. His will. He is ready to embarrass you with all of His ble

  DAILY VITAMIN - How To Get Blessed Easily “I will bless those who bless you…” (Gen 12:3 TLB) In the beatitudes, Jesus taught the people that those who show mercy will be shown mercy (Matt 5:7). This is the principle of nature—sowing and reaping. And God having put in place works by it too. Speaking to Abraham, He said those that bless him shall be blessed, and he that curses him shall be cursed. And today we know Abraham’s seed are the believers (Gal 3:29). In other words, one of the easiest way to earn a blessing is to bless a believer. Even when a Christian brother hurts you don’t insult him. Bless him instead. As Kenneth Hagen of blessed memory would say, “bless him.” He literally said bless him, or “bless you” while responding.  Do the same, and by this principle you will receive a blessing. Rather than hurl insults and curse, or get into fights with him, just say a simple “bless you.” That goes a long way. Or you can just go ahead and extend a hand f generosity to people in need

 DAILY VITAMIN - You Have A Right To The Blessings of Jesus “For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2 Cor 4:11) We know that everything Jesus did, He did for us. And what are these He did for us? Rev 5:10,12 says He made us priests and kings in the earth and has given us access to every blessing there is. Ephesians 1:3 agrees with that. If this be the case, then why do a lot of people still don’t believe that divine health or divine providence are theirs for the taking? I’ll tell you why. Because they don’t yet understand how it works. Our theme verse says “For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” What that means in essence is that if we share in the persecutions of Christ on the earth—that is, everything Jesus suffered as a man, then we also have an undebatable right to the things He enj

  DAILY VITAMIN -  Pray In The Spirit “Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit wishes….” (Ephesians 6:18 TLB) There is a limit to what you know. The mind feeds on presented knowledge, so you can only manage to know what you have accessed. But it’s different with our spirit. Our spirits feed on revelational knowledge. It takes from the Spirit of God and transmit the words to your conscious mind. In other words, your spirit can access knowledge of things that both are and aren’t yet, because it has access to God. When we pray in the Spirit, we speak mysteries—not to God, but to self, because we speak of deep things our mind may have had no privy knowledge of. In this way, we can prevent things that could have been, and impose things that might not have. When we pray in tongues, we pray God’s will into our lives. In it, we are also not limited in words, for we speak as we are given utterance. So the buck stops with God in this kind of prayer. All we need to do

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Meet You Where Your Faith Stops (2) “…According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) Everybody that ever got healed did as a result of their belief, and everyone that didn’t also were not healed because of their belief. Consider the woman with the issue of blood, and the many others that got their healing using her methods after she got healed. They did so because first of all they believed. Belief is what prompts actions, and action is what provokes reactions. So these folks got healed primarily through the process of faith. But didn’t others get healed without touching Jesus? Of course they did, because the healing power is not in His robes, but in your faith in His Name. So things happen first because of faith in Him. In Nazareth, Jesus accused them of not believing in Him and many were not healed as a result.  Let me add this to help you understand this better. In His parable, Jesus tells us that everyone called into the vineyard receives the sam

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Meet You Where Your Faith Stops (1 ) “…According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) The Lord responds to us in accordance to our faith. That’s the reason why A gets healed without visiting a hospital and B is only cured by visiting one. He works on us as our faith permits. Consider Jairus and Jesus. Jesus had to take the long walk back to his house to heal his daughter, but do you think that was necessary? Not really. He did so because that was the condition Jairus’s faith placed on Him. Jairus said he believed she could come back to life, but only if Jesus came home to touch her (Matt 9:18). That’s why He had to go to the house. Before then, we see Jesus heal a certain centurion’s servant in a similar deathly condition without moving a foot (Matt 8:13). Again, the centurion conditioned Him. He told Jesus his servant would be healed if Jesus only spoke the word (v.8-9). So, you see, Jesus works according to the faith of men.  Thus, what do you beli

  DAILY VITAMIN  - You Have One Spirit "But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the Spirit of God living in you... " (Roman's 8:9 TLB)  When the Spirit of God enters into a man,  He doesn't go into his head or his mind, or even his natural body, He inhabits his spirit. You'd notice the theme scripture says controlled by your new nature. That can either mean two things; either that when the Spirit comes into you,  your spirit goes dormant, or that when He does,  your spirit becomes one with Him. And the latter is what I'd like to show.  As a born again believer, you have the Spirit of God in you. This is for identification (Eph 1:13). It's how God marks you out as His own. It's how the angels recognize you as heavenbound. But there's also such a thing as being filled with the Spirit. The Charismatic call it the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And it is for the demonstration of God's power,  so as to draw others in