The Oscar Ajoku Blog: Daily Vitamin Devotional

  DAILY VITAMIN - To Save A Sinner “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) But then the question becomes: * How can I know I need to be saved when I’m not even convinced I was damned to start with? * How do I know I need to come out of the darkness when I’m not even convinced I’m in the dark right this moment? * How can I accept I need Jesus in my life when I’m not even convinced right now I’m no better without Him? These are valid arguments folks bring up most times. Valid, because there is no salvation without conviction. As such for them to be saved, they must have been flooded by a tsunami of convictions. And even though conviction is personal, it can be aided. Yes and in this case must be. You see, darkness isn’t exposed by listing all of its attributes. “You’re black. You’re white. You smoke. You don’t.” No! It is by exposing it to light as Christ alwa

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Role Of The Church “…To what is the kingdom of God like? And whereto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.” (Luke 13:18-19) The church is tailored after the Kingdom. In fact, it is primarily an annex of the Kingdom on the earth. The centre of God’s domain among men. And just as the Kingdom reaches beyond all boundaries, the church is designed to grow and spread across all lands.  The Bible illustrates the Kingdom like a king who called all to the feast of his son (Matthew 22:1). Which is exactly what Jesus designated as the fundamental duty of His church (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20). In other words, the church like the Kingdom carries the Genesis mandate to multiply, replenish and have dominion (Genesis 1:28); and what is it meant to multiply? Righteousness through the knowledge of Christ as aided by the Holy Sp

  DAILY VITAMIN - Dreams Do Come True “…all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Whatever a man can dream, he can be. Every God-inspired dream was given to you because He knows you have all it takes to bring it to the fore right there within you. And He’s so sure because He put it there Himself. You see, God would never give you a dream bigger than you. Perhaps bigger than your present circumstance or your apparent present capacity; but if He gave you a heart to own it, He’s surely given you the potential to see it happen. The key here is to believe. I don’t care how outrageous your dream is, it can never be more outrageous than God’s ability to do the impossible. The scripture says HE can do all things above what we could even imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  What that means is if you can dream it God can do it because even the things we aren’t capable of dreaming about He can do those too. So, just believe and take the corresponding actions required to meet its reality hal

 DAILY VITAMIN - Prove Your Love “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) I learned when I was a chap that people don’t care what you know, all they want to know is that you care. They don’t want the textbook type of love, they want the real life kind of love. The type that doesn’t just affirm itself in words but in deeds. And while this mustn’t always end with someone dying for another literally, it always does figuratively. Be it in priorities, in choices or in actions. Something must give, and it must give for the other to have. You see, love must be proven not spoken. It’s an action emotion. It doesn’t want to be stayed within, it wants to sprout off with evidences. The truth is anybody can casually use the words “I love you,” but not many can take up the responsibility of love. Love has its burdens; many in fact. Paul tells us that it bears all things, envies not and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). That means love makes us

  DAILY VITAMIN - Look Up “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from where comes my help.” (Psalm 121:1) When things get tough, just look up. Not literally, but in your heart. David did that. He was looking up at the hills during battle, but while the enemy thought he was waiting for some ally forces his mind was set on God. And even when they were outnumbered, Israel won every time. You might feel alone at times, thinking the world is against you. You assume that you can’t find help from around you but I’m here to tell you you’ve got help in God. Verse 2 says “My help comes from the LORD…” and He is willing to help. The devil will always be there to discourage you, to tell you God can’t help you, but he’s lying. It’s all he is good at. God will help you. He says fear not I will help you (Isaiah 41:13). He won’t leave you alone. He will show Himself strong in your behalf. All you have to do is trust Him even when the odds seem not in your favour. These were the words of Asa (2 Chronicle

  DAILY VITAMIN - We Serve A Wonder-Working God "...because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort." (Daniel 3:29) God is wonderful. I think that's the best description of God that exists. He is wonder personified. Everything about Him is filled with wonders. You see, the things that are natural to God are supernatural to us. What we call miracles are the daily experience of His estate. For instance, the scripture tells us that in heaven there is no need for a sun because He is light enough. Imagine the sun disappeared for a whole day and yet your city was still lighted up, we'd all gather and term the phenomenon a miracle. But it's something that God on a normal day exudes. Like I said, He is just sublimely wonderful. And the signs of His wonderfulness are all around us.  The King Nebuchadnezzar, to whom the theme scripture is credited to, said it best: he said, "How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everl

 DAILY VITAMIN - God Is Not A Man, He Won't Let You Down "God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) A lot of people have been disappointed at various stages of their lives. Some by loved ones, others by strangers they'd believed could turn out different who never did. These disappointments overtime create a huge gulf in their hearts that make it impossible to trust anymore. Not a new partner in a new relationship; not a buddy who says "I've got your back." They just don't trust as easily as they once did because they don't want to be disappointed as they once were. Well guess what? God isn't like any of those guys. He won't let you down. You might not believe but HE won't. That's the essence of that opening scripture. He's saying "I'm not like your dad, I'm better than a

  DAILY VITAMIN - Think Right "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7) We are products of our thoughts. It's the mechanism by which we are made, either for good or bad. Like a cascade, we choose what we think and accept, and then in return they decide what we become. So it is true that a man can never be bigger than what he thinks he is, because his thoughts are a scale by which he's weighed and therefore perceived, even if by no one else, by himself. As a result, it doesn't matter what others may say about you, what matters first is what you say of yourself. Because that's what you'd reflect, and therefore is the fuel that determines whether or not you stand a chance, no matter how little. In other words, if others say you're not good enough and you think maybe they're right that you're not good enough, then believe me you are not good enough, not because you are actually not good enough but because you accept that you are

  DAILY VITAMIN - You Will Rejoice Again "When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter..." (Psalm 126:1-2) In the above Psalm, David via the help of the Spirit was teaching us how things work with God. Contrary to what we may have believed for years, he wasn't solely speaking of Israel's release from Eygpt but of every release the children of the Most High will ever experience. And that includes yours. Today. He says "then said they among the heathen, The LORD has done great things for them." (v. 2). And that "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (v. 5). The sowing in tears refers to our being patient and trusting, such that we keep holding to God even when losing grip of all that pertains to a good life. Because as David also insinuated, when God shows up, the stranger will wish they were us.  Now you'd notice that this Psalm was written before the Babylonian capt

  DAILY VITAMIN - If Only You Knew What God's Been Doing For You "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:" (Psalm 124:2) A lot of us don't truly understand the extremity of the goodness of God in our lives. We don't know the things He's done and still does for us--seen and unseen. We wake up each morning and think what the heck! Another day. But if only you could see what happened in those six hours you were insatient.  The scripture tells us that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness in the spirit world (Ephesians 6:12). That means the devil is your fatal foe for life, and each day he's on the lookout for ways to completely make a mess of you. Jesus said his only though for you is to kill, destroy and steal (John 10:10). To ravage us (1 Peter 5:8). But guess who's on the other side making sure you receive life instead of the deathly woes planned? God (John 10:10). In other

  DAILY VITAMIN - Sing To The Lord "...singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:19) It takes a grateful heart to worship; but gratitude isn't just an offshoot of what has been received, sometimes it's just a response to what could be. In other words, you don't need any reason to worship God; that you can think there should be one is enough reason to. Like I've said in past devotionals, the things you think are worthless are things others are begging for.  For instance, you woke up this morning. To many, that's nothing. It's usual. Ordinary. But to the fellow whose dad didn't wake up this morning it isn't. We take for granted a lot of things, but when we realize that we are not entitled to an extra day at the end of each day, and that the breath we take in every day is a gift from God, we would have enough reason to wake up each morning with thanksgiving.  As I love to say; thanksgiving is a function of understanding wh

  DAILY VITAMIN - Don't Doubt Yourself; You Can "I can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) I know what you're thinking: 'I'm not cool enough, smart enough, tall enough... Why won't I doubt myself?'  Well, I was a terrible writer. A horrible Bible teacher. But as of today, I've written some really great stuffs, and with God's help I've taught the Word to a bunch of people I could never have dreamed of teaching. So forgive me for being too optimistic as it concerns you. But guess what? I'm not the only one who's optimistic you can do the unimaginable. Because God is too. He says "You can do all things..." Yes, you. Not the guy who's kind of taller or cooler; No. I don't know about that guy, all I know is that He says you can. You who's reading this right now. Don't wag your head, I said you. And you've got believe it. Because if you are ever going to be transformed

  DAILY VITAMIN - The Word Blesses Doers "...blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:28) The Bible says that we should be doers of the word, and not hearers alone (James 1:22). Do you know why? Because as our theme scripture says, the blessing of the word comes only from abiding in it. James tells us that when we don't abide by it, but only hear, we can be likened to a fellow who stares at a reflection of his smudged face in a mirror but does nothing about cleaning himself up (v. 23-24). He sees the stain but retains it, leaving the same way he came.  The thing is, the Word shows you where you lack, but if you let it, it can help you fill up the void. And that comes from doing what it says. It's like a manual. A manual is useless to you unless you practice what's written in it. For instance, you may have an appliance work on a lower capacity except you are doing exactly what the manufacturer says is needed to raise a notch higher. In the

DAILY VITAMIN - Love Yourself "...I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." (Psalm 139:14) Why do we think loving oneself is wrong? Why do we act like it's a sin? Self-love isn't wrong; what's wrong is if you are all you love. Infact, God expects us to love ourselves. Jesus tells us the greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbours as you love yourself. Not more than you love yourself, but as much as you love yourself. The truth is if you don't love yourself, you can't love anyone else. Love is reflective. You can only give what you have within. This is evidential in how God can love us unconditionally; and that is because He is love personified. So, He doesn't struggle to give it because He is it. In the same way, if you don't see yourself as worth much, you'd never think anyone is worth anything too. Thus, we are urged to love ourselves. To see ourselves how God sees us--as fearfully and wonderfully made. You might not be mo

  DAILY VITAMIN - Spare A Penny "Every man according as he purposed in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7) Two truths are certain in life: 1. Not everyone will be rich. 2. Regardless of how bad your present state may be, there are those who are in much more far worse. So, in other words, there will always be poor people in this world, or in some cases poorer people. Jesus assured us of that; and your testimonies are actually someone else's prayer requests. For this reason, we are told that God blesses us with some level of wealth for two things: to enjoy, and also to help others (1 Timothy 6:17-18). Paul describes it better in his letter to the church in Corinth. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always have all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work...For the administration of this service not only supplies the want of the saints, but is abun

  DAILY VITAMIN - Only A Call Away "As many as call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13) God is never far away from us. The Bible says His eyes are always watching us (2 Chronicles 16:9). So even in your deepest lows, God is still very near to you. You may feel alone, depressed, dejected, abandoned, but believe me you're not. God feels everything you are feeling at this moment. He knows where it hurts; and at all times His desire is to see that burden broken from off you. His desire is to see you smile again.  So please you're not alone. Remember that. When in need, do well to ask the Lord for help. Listen to what HE says regarding that: "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them." (Isaiah 41:17). Then He went ahead and said He will cause rivers to open in high places and fountains in low places (v. 18); that's favour

  DAILY VITAMIN - Your Joy Cometh "...in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5) After every storm comes the peace. It doesn't matter how long it may have lasted, after its final display of fury, peace is ushered in from the horizon. Let's take a case study of Noah's ark. The rains lasted for forty days, the flood for almost a hundred and fifty days; but at the end the sun shone bright again. This is why I can tell you that your sun will shine again. The opening scripture tells us that your weeping may have lasted for days, nights, years, but when your time comes that weeping will cease. Your marriage may have been heading downhill, your finances may have been downtrodden, but in His favour life will breathed into them again. The dying marriage will receive life, and the dying earning power will be revived. You will find joy again. God will make sure of that. All you need to do is delight yourself in Him. The

  DAILY VITAMIN - A Change of Story Is Possible "And at that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord." (Zephaniah 3:20) In Christ, we all get a clean slate. Not just in terms of our sins, but regarding our entire life. When the scripture said all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17), it meant all things. A total transformation. As such, if you were an outcast, now you are chosen; special. And you have to believe it, because that's God's Word concerning you. The theme scripture says God will do it. It might not look like such now, but believe Him He will. Didn't He do the same in the lives of David, Moses, Joseph, Jabez, Daniel, Gideon, the apostles? Taking men who were considered as not good enough and making them the pillars of a great cause. Then who is Oscar(replace with your name) that He cannot do it wi

  DAILY VITAMIN - Be Assured, God Will Do It "The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; He will save..." (Zephaniah 3:17) The first thing I need you to understand today is that you have a God who has the power to do everything He wills to--even those we count as too impossible. And that is good news, for us. The scripture above shows that.  In other words, it depicts that as far as God abides in and with us, there is nothing that He cannot do for us in line with His will, because that power is always extant. Which as a result means that if He has promised to do a thing for you, He will do it; and nothing and no one would stop it. Consider the story of Nehemiah. A man whom God constantly placed the burden of the restoration of Jerusalem in his heart. He had no natural influence over the possibility and eventual achievement of that; a mere steward in the palace of a Gentile king. But because God does all He proposes to, Nehemiah found favour before Xerxes and received al

  DAILY VITAMIN - God Will Make A Way “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) The song says God is a Waymaker. A simple word that shows that there’s nothing He can’t do. Jeremiah 32:27 says nothing is too difficult for Him. Matthew 19:26 says nothing shall be impossible for Him to do. And both are true. But unless you believe this, you might never experience its reality. That’s what was said to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7:9.  Every establishment is set in place by beliefs; in the same vein, to see a side of God, you’ve got to believe that that side of His is ever extant. Notice what was said to Mary: “Blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). So if you want performance, you got to pay with faith. And even a mustard seed kind of faith can move great mountains. So have a little faith to