The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN - Be Patient With God “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way…” (Psalm 37:7) Many times we believe we should be rewarded big time, now, for all we do in and for the Kingdom, but that’s where we fail to understand how the Kingdom works. Which is exactly what the prodigal son’s brother also failed to understand. In Mark 10:29-30, Jesus said that such a fellow shall receive a hundred fold of all he deserves even in this world. However, 1 Peter 5:10 says after he may have suffered a while. The term suffering is relative; but God’s promise is the same. What He has prepared for you, both in this world and the next, is too stupendous for you to comprehend (Jeremiah 29:11). It might not seem as such right now, considering all you’d had to go through, but trust Him HE will come through for you. It might take some while, but He won’t be late. He will show up at the appointed time. The prodigal son’s brother watched h

  DAILY VITAMIN - What The Holy Spirit Does For You: Fellowship “And I will pray the Father, and HE shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” (John 14:16) We are not alone. As much as the Spirit lives in and dwells upon us, He also dwells with us. The Bible calls Him a Standby—a support system at our weakest moments; a most reliable friend; a teacher (1 John 2:27, John 14:26). An advocate who defends you when everyone abandons you. A comforter. A buddy.  When we are in pain, He’s in pain with us. He grieves when we grieve and rejoices when we rejoice. And in doing so helps us to be able to do the same with others when the need arises (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). You see, when we got saved, our spirits got reborn, fused with God’s Spirit; and so we have a Spirit-covered human spirit. In this way, we have access to the Father directly through one Spirit. We don’t need a tabernacle anymore, because God in His fullness now dwells in us. So we can’t get rid of Him. W

  DAILY VITAMIN -  What The Holy Spirit Does For You: Identification “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:17) All through scripture, God separated men by marking them. He marked Cain to keep men from slaying him (Genesis 4:15). He marked His people in captivity to keep them from the plague of death (Ezekiel 9:4). And now through the redemption many are being tagged with the marks of Jesus Christ. But how? By the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit in us identifies us as sons (and daughters) of God (Romans 8:14-16). He is the seal of the promise. He brings in the attributes of the Lamb, shedding His fruit upon us. Gentleness, love, faith and all these godly virtues are exuded through the resident presence of Christ’s Spirit in us. You see, when Adam fell in the garden, he lost two things: his authority and his identity. But in Noah, God r

  DAILY VITAMIN - What The Holy Spirit Does For You: Demonstration “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Having been born again, having received the Spirit within us, we must also go ahead to receive the infilling of the Spirit, or what most Charismatics call the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. This phenomenon ensures we receive the gifts of the Spirit as seen in 1 Corinthians 12.  That was what we saw happen in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit came on them and they exuded the gifts of God. With this, we can demonstrate the power of God through our mortal vessels. Now, as a result, our words go forth with power, encouraging lost souls. Our intercessions carry prevailing effects, saving the broken. Now we heal the sick, emulating the works of Christ. This way we are armed to do the Lord’s will on the earth. In the old days, the S

  DAILY VITAMIN - Open Your Heart To Receive "According to your faith be it to you." (Matthew 9:29) The Bible tells us that a man born lame from his mother's womb received his healing because he had faith to be healed. A faith so strong it could be perceived (Acts 14:9). And instantly he leapt and never returned to being a cripple again. Sometimes I think the reason why many of us haven't received is because we haven't truly believed for it even though we've been doing every other thing God wants us doing. Many of us have an attitude of 'if He does it, good; if he doesn't, still good', but God doesn't deal with double-minded fellows. If we must receive from Him, we must come without doubt (James 1:5-7). With a heart that says this or this, and nothing else. That's why Jesus couldn't do much when Bartimaeus first said that He should have mercy on him. Mercy? That's too ambiguous. Jesus could have spared him some charge and marched on

  DAILY VITAMIN - Stay Strong, Making A Difference "...be you steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58) Most times, the trials we face bring out a new part of ourselves we never knew. Sometimes good, other times horrible. Oftentimes, a lot of times we find ourselves doing strange things we never thought we were capable of just to keep up. Things we are mostly ashamed of. I have seen more poor people end up doing terrible things than good. So yes, hardship more times than not bring out the worst in us. That's why the sage wrote "...less I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." (Proverbs 30:9).  And believe me, this isn't just about you, it's about all of us. Even the best of us. I've been there, so miserable in faith because of what I was going through, and so was David. So much that he wrote, "For the rod of the wick

  DAILY VITAMIN - Walk In The Light “Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying. I am the Light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) The day we became born again, we took up a new way of life. We adopted a new culture, a new origin, a new nationality. We stopped being American, Nigerian, Russian, German, Belizean etc. At least as it pertains to the spirit, and became children of God; residents of the Kingdom. In other words, we stopped being of this world; though in this world, our lifestyle and disposition drastically cease to be influenced by it. Little wonder we are told not to be conformed to the ways of this world, but to be transformed by the precepts of God’s Word (Rom 12:1). Because we are not from down here.  In our theme verse, it is said we have the light of life in us. Many live in gross darkness as Isaiah prophesied, but we are of those who have arisen through the light of Christ and therefore must shine (I

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Answers Prayers "Call to Me, and I will answer you..." (Jeremiah 33:3) It's October 20, 2011, the day the University of Benin's list of admitted students came out. Unsurprising, I made it. I was going to be studying Biochemistry come November. But then trouble arose. We were broke; so it was almost impossible to get the tuition. Unlike in the U.S, there is no access to student loans or any form of financial aid here in the country, except you want to test the waters with the banks, in which most times than not you get drowned eventually. So there I was, with an offer to get into college in a month and no money. My parents didn't have enough, and neither did I, nor my sister who had been really supportive financially all the while. Of course I had a job, working in a local church as a personal assistant to the head pastor, for free. So all I could was pray; some days cry, but inarguably hope that something would come up.  A month went by; scho

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Lion And The Gazelle “See you a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men.” (Proverbs 22:29) Every morning the lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve; in the same light the gazelle knows it must outrun the fastest lion if it must survive. It doesn’t matter which we are in this world, but by daybreak we better be running. Running here depicts the act of improving oneself. And as such if we aren’t improving at the same pace the world is, we’ll be left behind. The world is changing rapidly and only those who can keep up with the changes by adopting the capabilities to adapt can thrive. Be it in business or what have you. Staying static has never helped anyone. We must be kinetic; actively and readily willing to enhance our know-how. So whether you are a boss or an employee, be keen to get better daily. Just so you know, God is an advocate of innovation. In the days of Uzziah, the

  DAILY VITAMIN - All Eyes On You “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) When you sneak into a supposedly hidden place or in the best of your craftiness commit a sin believing no one saw you, you’re wrong. Totally wrong. No man may have seen you, but many in the audience of the other realm see you. Nothing is hidden under the sun, the scripture says, and that’s just how it is.  The Bible calls us spectacles to angels. Do you know what that means? They watch us like a movie all the time. And then there’s God whose eyes are stayed on us (2 Chronicles 16:9). So we can’t hide. God sees everything. Everything we do. There’s no avoiding Him. No “don’t let Him see”. He sees it all. Little wonder He says through Paul, “Don’t be deceived, God cannot be mocked. Whatsoever a man sows so shall he reap.” (G

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don’t Be Deceived, God Is Real “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 53:1) God exists whether you believe it or not. Ignorance doesn’t override truth. It’s like saying hunger doesn’t exist because you’ve never gone starving all your life. Well, just take a trip down the block and you’d find out just how wrong you are. The same goes with our belief about the existence of God.  We judge things sometimes on the basis of perception; which is fair by all standards, but could also be a faux pas, seeing how limited human perception can be. The fact that we don’t see a thing doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The fact that we don’t know a thing doesn’t make it unreal. Forget what they say about how what we don’t know can’t kill us because it will kill us and then bury us for free. So please wake up, don’t confuse your lack of comprehension to mean a lack of presence. God is real. He says He is I AM, and whether you accept that or not, He still remains I AM. All t

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Don't Have To Do It Alone "I know that [the determination of] the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man [even in a strong man or in a man at his best] to direct his [own] steps." (Jeremiah 10:23 AMP) The Bible tells us that man plans, but the end result of that plan still lies in God's hand. With this we can easily appreciate the sovereignty of God. Hannah understood this, thus she said of him: He raise one up and brings another down. So even when a man shines so bright, it is not enturely of his doing, for by strength shall no man prevail (1 Samuel 2:9). Everything we are and can be is largely dependent on God's making. The theme verse tells us that, therefore even those brilliant ideas we think we cook up are a product of God's doing. In Biblical times, those who understood this fully always succeeded. Because through this knowing, they clung fast to the giver and not just the gift, realizing that he who has the giver has the

  DAILY VITAMIN - God’s Still In The Business Of Doing Miracles “…But with God, everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 TLB) In the year 2010, a step-aunt of mine, then in her early forties, woke up with a swollen abdomen. Believing it to be nothing but a consequence of the mountain of food she’d consumed the night before, she paid it no mind. However, the bulge only got worse. Petrified at what that could mean, she decided against visiting the hospital on her own, but instead took the first bus to our home. After a few days, she and my step-mom finally went to the teaching hospital, but the doctors couldn’t detect the course. Some plainly said they couldn’t see anything in the test result as a causative factor; others added a little negative remark without proof: it might simply be a tumor. Perhaps ovarian. Hopefully not cancerous. That was the day the panic started. No hospital was willing to risk operating on her without a clue to what was actually wrong with her as required. So aft

DAILY VITAMIN - How To Make Your Marriage Work: Love, Like Truly Love, Your Spouse “And you husbands show the same kind of love to your wives as Christ showed to the church…” (Ephesians 5:25 TLB) Love is a duty you owe to all whom you hold dear and also to those who you don’t. The scripture advises us to love without dissimulation (Romans 12:9), and here it tells us to love our partners that way specifically as Christ did with the church. The question then becomes “what did Christ do?” First, He sacrificed for her; gently corrected it, and meekly put up with her till she fully learned the correction. He understood her weakness and in the midst of it all, stood as her strength. Like He said to Paul, my strength is made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). But today I’d like us to focus on understanding. Love is understanding; and understanding is the only way we can learn to tolerate each other. I have always said that there is no perfect marriage with perfect people, just a m

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Is Supreme "...The purpose of this decree is that all the world may understand that the Most High dominates the kingdoms of the world, and gives them to anyone He wants to, even the lowliest of men!" (Dan 4:17TLB) I find a lot of believers talk about the devil so much these days you'd think the devil created this world. They get scared when they speak of him, but fail to understand that the devil is insignificant in the place of God.  What this means is that the only reason why the devil has a role in this cycle of life is because God lets him. And that there is God's most fearsome attribute - not His ability to make be,  but His ability to let be. See Lamentations 3:37-38. In the days of Job, despite his not being born again in the order of things, the devil couldn't touch him. He had to seek clearance from God. And even when Jesus said this thief steals, kills and destroys, note that He said he seeks to not that he will succeed; for as the

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Power Of Belief "Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you have it; it's yours." (Mark 11:24 TLB) A lot of folks don't like to talk about it; some think it's mere fallacy, whileothers accept it, but belief is the foundation of all becomings. Whether we succeed or fail, it's always first down to the belief system we've built in ourselves. That's why the devil craves to destroy it. Yes, just so you know, that's what he tries to steal, kill and destroy - your belief (faith); not your life. A life without sustainable belief is death personified; and he knows this. We are nothing without belief.  He knew he couldn't kill Job, so he went after his belief so he would curse God and die. So the devil doesn't really care if you live or die, but he does care that you don't become what you were born to be. That's why he came after Jesus, and even now after us.  In Revelations 12, once he knew what th

  DAILY VITAMIN - Be Thankful In All Things "Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you..." (1 Thesis 5:18 GNB) Gratitude is the most important virtue any believer should possess. Christians are happy people because we are grateful people. And therein lies the key to a life full of joy: being grateful in and for all things.  When faced with an impossible task and a difficult situation, having only five loaves to feed over five thousand heads, the first thing Jesus did was give thanks (Mark 6:41). Once that was done, the unimaginable then happened. You see, nothing moves God into action more than a grateful heart, especially one in the midst of reasons to have been bitter. The Psalmist calls it our sole purpose for living - to worship the Lord at all times; good or bad. And here's what I'll say to you regarding that even as you head into the new day: That your life isn't as colourful as you think it should be doesn't mean that the life yo

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Do It "Yes, ask anything, using my name, and I will do it." (John 14:14 TLB) God can do anything. Ephesians 3:20 says even things beyond our reach and comprehension. So there's nothing to much for Him to accomplish (Jeremiah 32:27). Thus the reason why Jesus said 'anything'. We might limit our abilities to a certain degree, but God has no limitations. He can do anything. The same power it takes God to create an orange is what it takes to create the orange tree. The same power it takes to heal the sick is what it takes Him to create a whole new man. In other words, there's no too-big-for-God-to-do. What you have to do is ask. He said ask that your joy might overflow (John 16:24). Whatever it is that's necessary for your full joy to manifest in this life can be done by Him in a blink of an eye. The only requirement is that it's something He has approved for you (Isaiah 45:19 TLB).  If God would do just about anything we ask whe

  DAILY VITAMIN - Remember That You Are Loved “But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again…” (Ephesians 2:6-7 TLB) In today’s world, with all the hardships and trials we battle against daily, it’s easy to think that we are alone. That God has abandoned us. That we are not loved. But that’s not true. The scripture tells us that God has never forsaken us and never will (Hebrew 13:5). He cares for us. That’s why He gave His human life in exchange for our glory. And if He did this when we were unworthy, how much now that He’s made us worthy? Things may not be working well right now, but don’t stop believing. Look behind you, you’d realize that God’s been there all the while. He isn’t going anywhere. The Bible calls Him the Shepherd who doesn’t abandon His sheep. If it will take Him days to find you and restore life unto you, He’d do it. Why? Because He loves you. He knows you by name, and

  DAILY VITAMIN - Actions Speak Loudest “Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16 TLB) It was 4:30 p.m., sometime in late January 2015. The students were crowded en masse for Laboratory Practice registrations. Everybody was there; the sleek guys and girls, and the geeks as well. And also there was myself, and my very good friend Earnest. We were both members of the Christian Community on campus; but Earnest was the more vocal kind. Well, on this day, the hall was replete with students and the process slow, but eventually it got to our turn. The Registration Officer (R.O) requested for the required fee and documentation and thus signed me up; however when it was Earnest’s time to get registered, he failed to ask for the fee. Anyway, when we were both done with the process and on our way back home, Earnest softly indicated that we stop for a moment. As we stood there under the canop