Good-life Daily Devotional

  By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  2 Kings 7:1-2 NIV Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"       There was economic recession in Samaria  and it was so severe that citizens resorted to cannibalism for survival (2Kings 6:28). Like this crisis ,every evil on the face of the earth is caused by man''s selfishness.Despite this, God’s love for humanity remains the same however; His blessings are conditioned on our submitting to His authority .Rebellion against spiritual authority leads to poverty.     As in the case of the Samarians , a prophet (Hebrew: nabiy’ meaning an inspired man) would be sent to us and our response to his instructions would d

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Acts 1:17-18 KJV“For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”       This is the account of Judas Iscariot: one of the leaders of the early church. He was close to Jesus and considered the most trustworthy given that he was in charge of the treasury (John13:29).Judas had built his security around money and social status therefore, whenever his finances were threatened his love for God , missionary work and will to live diminished. There are many of such persons in the church who have put the pursuit of money above love and fellowship with God's people.        These persons like Judas are often cynical and hypercritical of divinely constituted authority (Matt.26:6-8) This is the breeding ground for suicidal tendencies and when he eventually came to his senses the d

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi        Gen 3:10 KJV “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”       Adam's fall in the garden of Eden was the worst event to ever occur in the history of humanity . It marked the beginning of the decay of the human character.  Gen 3:10 highlights the consequences of this fall, firstly, it brought about fear instead of faith and secondly, nakedness : a sense of vulnerability. Nakedness is the product of low self-esteem, emotional and physical insecurity.     An overwhelming sense of vulnerability and fear results in buried potentials; with people living below God’s standard for their lives. The setting in the Eden was for God to have a one-of-a-kind relationship with Adam founded on unconditional love , discipline and wisdom .Adam misunderstood this through arrogance and presumptuousness : Satan gave a twisted version of God’s character centered on selfishness and t

 Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Psalm 119:71 “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statues."        The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ meant that all the demands of the law were fulfilled (Mat.5:17). Failure to obey the laws of Moses meant death for the guilty party and Jesus Christ took the place of humanity on the cross taking upon himself all our curses(past,present,future) leaving none behind, that's what the scriptures means when it says "becoming a curse for us.."  {Gal3:13, Deut21:23 } The blood of Jesus Christ is our eternal immunity against curses (Eph1:7,Heb.10:10).         The era of the ministration of condemnation and curses ended when Jesus Christ was crucified (2cor.3:9-11) we are under the ministration of righteousness (Rom.3:28) unfortunately, many preachers still minister condemnation by attributing trials, temptations to curses from the laws of Moses or from witches and wizards. This teachings are behind th

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi    Mark 10:5-6 NKJV   ‘ And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'            The scripture describes marriage as a mystery (Eph.5:32). The word mystery as used here is a Greek word ‘musterion ‘which means (to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites). Marriage  is a mystical union that requires the highest form of information management. Marriages are built or destroyed by spoken words. The first couple failed when they began sharing their marriage covenant secrets with a stranger (Satan) in their pursuit of alternative wisdom away from God’s word (Gen3:1-6). You can choose to build your marriage by the guidance of God’s word or secular media (magazines,tv soap opera, social media etc).            Marriage

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Luke 18:9-14“….. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."       It is difficult to wrap one’s religious mind around Jesus’ statement in Luke 18:14 where he declared a sinner  ‘Justified’. The word 'Justified' as used in this scripture is the Greek word “dikaioo “and it means to render (i.e. show or regard a person as) just or innocent. It means to declare a person righteous.  Man-made religion defines a righteous man as that fellow with a good public record like the Pharisee in Luke 18:11 “For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector!” But God’s definition of a perfect or righteous man according to James 3:2 is that fellow who….” does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], …”  (Amplified Bible).   

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Matt 6:32 AMP ” For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. ”         Prayer is the communication between God and His children ;it involves exchange of information : therefore after speaking to the heavenly Father; one should wait for an answer. The answer could be through an inner voice by the Holy Ghost, through an anointed servant of God, ministry of angels or through the written word of God. God always replies prayers and if we could develop the habit of waiting to hear Him speak back to us, we would be less anxious and make fewer errors in our decision making. At such times Satan always reminds us of our weaknesses, this to weaken our faith and eventually make us give up.           God does not need you asking for air to breath before giving it , He knows you need clean breathable air as a matter of necessity. He already knows what we need. The

By Rev.  Michael Benson Ajayi Ex 14:13-14 NIV “Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."  Moses was faced with a condition in his leadership carrier were all human formula failed him, he was being chased by Pharaoh and the Egyptian army and the only way forward was through the sea. Death was certain whichever way , except there was divine intervention.        Sometimes we find ourselves where our best plans fail not because we did make the necessary calculations but due to circumstances beyond our control, this results in discouragement and depression with suicidal tendencies. Many persons are simply going through the motions of life, they’ve actually lost the will to live. Some of the factors that results in discouragement includes; the hardness of the way (Numbers 21:4): God’s w

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi,                     Hebrews 9:27-28: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many”     Those who believe in reincarnation  claim life is a never ending cycle: at death a person is reborn into a new body as a divine act of justice with some being rewarded with a good life and others misfortune. This logic at some point exempts us from being accountable for our actions and portends a lot of danger to the human race.It one the reasons for the increase in wickedness the world over. It is a legitimization of evil: for instance , imagine someone reincarnating into a mass murderer as an act of divine justice .               In Luke 23:43, Jesus speaking to the penitent thief beside him said in Luke 23:43 KJV  “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The word ‘verily’ is same as 'truly' , this means translation from the physical earthly rea

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi 1 Kings 3:8-9   So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" NIV The word ‘discern’ is the Hebrew word  ‘ biyn ‘  it means ; to separate mentally (or distinguish), i.e.(generally) understand: King Solomon had just taken the mantle of leadership from his father King David, he had received the best training academically and knew an academic certificate was not a guarantee for  successful living. Some of the most impoverished countries in the world have some of the highest concentration of highly read individuals, an example is my country Nigeria with the highest concentration of tertiary degree certificate holders in Africa and yet among countries with the lowest living standards despite the abundance of human and natural resources.    This is proof that academic achievement does not equate to wisdom or the ability to discern proper

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  Matt 7:22-23 KJV “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”       It is interesting to know that prophets and miracle workers who are often celebrated are at the risk of missing heaven along with persons who do not meet with God’s standard for salvation. There greatest undoing is the misconception of the principle of salvation by grace, where human effort is of no relevance but an absolute trust in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross.        The prophetic office is sacred and it demands very strict discipline. Elisha refused an offering from a highly-placed foreign public officer (2kings5:16) a rare occurrence among today’s prophets with their claims of working in the so-called ‘anointing for high favo

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi Matt 24:30 TLB “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”               There have been so many speculations about the second coming of Christ by religious scholars especially from the world’s three major religions Judaism, Islam and Christianity. While most Jews reject Jesus Christ(Rom9:31,10:3), they look forward to the coming of their messiah however, Muslims believe Jesus Christ is alive and is with God  “Indeed I will take you (away) and lift you up to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve…” (Quran 3:55) .They also believe in the second coming of Christ, this is written in (Quran 3:45-46)  “God gives you tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be Jesus Christ, son of Mary….who are nearest (to God).  He shall speak to the people in

By  Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Luke 17:15-16NIV  ‘ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him —  and he was a Samaritan. ’             Thanksgiving is the highest display of worship that anyone could ever give to God. It is an acknowledgement of His  trustworthiness and praiseworthiness which is the differentiating factor between Jehovah; the creator of the universe and man-made gods.          Jesus takes it personal when this simple act of appreciation is ignored by believers like the ones in Luke17:11-18. Though healing is free, miracles are very effective witnessing tools. They build the faith of those we share our testimonies with .            Testimonies have another benefit to the testifier; the scripture says in Luke 17:19 KJV  … .your faith hath  made thee whole … . The word Greek  ‘ sozo ’ describes the compound word  ‘ made the whole   ‘ : it means to   ‘ preserve ’ .   The

 By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi        1 Cor 13:9KJV " For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."         A Prophesy is a declaration of God's divine will and righteous purpose . 2Tim 3:16-17 says, they are profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. Prophets uphold the moral standards of a society. Thus, prophesies must align with objective and logical faith in order to be valid as truth from God.        God does not contradict Himself neither does His word . Therefore , a prophet must be well grounded in God's written word to avoid misleading his or her audience. God reveals Himself through His word , 1 Sam 3:21KJV says " And .... the Lord revealed h