Good-life Daily Devotional

By Rev, Michael Benson Ajayi   Ezek 14:13-16 KJV “ Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.”     The word ‘righteousness’ as used in this text is the Hebrew word  ‘tsedaqah’ it  means; rightness rectitude, justice, virtue prosperity. It is prosperity derived from being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people and

Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi   Gen 13:8-9 KJV “And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”      God permits separation, be it that of grown children leaving home to start a family of their own , family members separating  due to ideological differences , business partners separating to pursue personal dreams , spouses separating from each other due to irreconcilable differences (1Cor.7:15)and so on. Separation is not the will of God for his church (1cor:1:10) yet he permits it because of our safety .     Jesus spoke of separation as being divinely influenced Matt 10:34-36 NIV says  “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn"'a man against his father

By Pst . Michael Benson Ajayi     John 1:48-49 NKJV Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"          Nathaniel was known for his credibility and criticism therefore, his brother Phillip was confident that he was best positioned to authenticate the validity of Jesus ’  claim to divinity. Prior to his encounter with Jesus, he had been seating secretly under a tree. Jesus knew that in order to convince Nathaniel it has to be beyond reasonable doubt, this He did by revealing Nathaniel ’ s secrets.          The  ‘ presence ’  of God (His essence or tangible manifestation) has often been viewed as a temporal phenomenon.  The word  ‘ presence ’   first occurred in Gen 3:8 KJV  “ And ... Adam and his wife hid themselves from the  presence  of the Lord

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  Gen 6:4-5 KJV “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”      The bible exposition commentary describes the events of Genesis 5:28-6:8 in this light “ God saw the people of that day as "fallen ones," while men saw these people as mighty leaders. Even today, much of what is admired by the world is rejected by the Lord (Luke 16:15). When the Sethites compromised by mingling with the Cainites, they fell from God's blessing. God was grieved that they married godless Cainites, choosing wives as they pleased without considering God's will (Gen 6:2). In doing this, they endangered the fulfillment of the 3:15 promise; for h

By Rev .Michael Benson Ajayi    Ex 26:33-34 NKJV  “And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”       The Ark was the symbol of God’s authority for His chosen people by reason of the covenant He made with Abraham.  It contained the Ten Commandments and was placed at the centre of the Tabernacle .It served as a constant reminder of God’s promises to them.        The Ten Commandments were rules on social justice and equity and they had authority over everyone. No one was above the rules, not even the high priest. They were an expression of God’s love for His people. Love is defined by its rules; flouting them compromises one’s safety.    We do not like to be told what to do; however, we need to . Modern day parenting and pastoring  encourages overindulgence and children raised under such environment grow up being  adults t

By Pst Michael Benson Ajayi     Mark 6:39-40 KJV   “ And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. ”         The supernatural multiplication of two pieces of fish and five loaves of bread to feed five thousand persons with twelve baskets full of leftover is one of the most extraordinary events of Jesus' ministry.Each miracle was a subliminal expression of the message of grace .         It was traditional for Jesus to teach lengthy sermons with  followers  cutting across the various strata of society; He had politicians, businessmen and women, children, technocrats, the clergy and laymen in attendance and on this occasion they were hungry and feeding became a problem.           The challenge before the disciples was not that of insufficient funds to buy food; judging from the disciples ’  statement in Mark 6:35 KJV  “ ..his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert plac

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Rom 15:14-16”. ..   So, my dear friends don't take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It's not criticism. I'm simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me,…”. Msg Bible         Criticism is the act of expressing disapproval and of noting the problems or faults of a person or thing (Merriam –Webstar Dictionary)              Nobody likes being told what they have invested time and resources in is not good enough. Prophet Job was a successful entrepreneur, preacher, husband and father;he suffered major losses because he could not stand being criticized Job 16:4 NLT “I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.” He preferred flattery even if he was heading in the wrong direction Job 16:5NLT “But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief.” The pain associated with criti

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  Mark 1:13 KJV “And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him”          The word ‘angels’ is the Greek word ‘aggelos’ it means: a messenger; a pastor. Angels are divided into two major groups , firstly, pastors and secondly, the supernatural beings assigned to enforce God’s word on earth. These supernatural beings have the capacity to change form especially sometimes into wind and fire ( Psalm 104:4 ).They can manifest like a tornado or wirlwind, lightening ,earthquake or thunder(Rev.8:5). They can also take the shape of human beings and are sent to test our level of generosity and commitment to God's service  . The scriptures say in Heb 13:2-3 NKJV “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”                 After spending 40 days without food in the wilderness, Jesus was refreshed by angels . The scriptures al

By Pst Michael Benson Ajayi    Mark 9:39-41 NKJV  “But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side.”          While on a mission trip, the first disciples observed an unknown man casting out demons in the name of Jesus. They were amazed and attempted to put an end to the activities of this presumed unorthodox preacher.They reported the incident to Jesus saying “Teacher, we saw someone who  does not follow us  casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him  because he does not follow us .” Mark 9:38 NKJV  To their chagrin and disdain, Jesus commended the work of this missionary thus demonstrating that He was more concerned about the fulfillment of the will of the father on earth, than the upholding of religious tenets .It was also  proof that God is not a member of any religious organization .True christianity is not a religion nor a movement but an ext

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi 1 Sam 2:16-17 “The man offering the sacrifice might reply, "Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first." Then the servant would demand, "No, give it to me now, or I'll take it by force." So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord's sight, for they treated the Lord's offerings with contempt.”         Many church- goers detest the phrase “tithes and offerings “ the reason being the abuse of this very important part of Christian worship by the modern day sons of Eli. The process of giving of the ceremonial  tithes and offerings was meant to be done by free will out of love and faith ; not by coercion or manipulation .God loves a cheerful giver : the activities of the sons of Eli has made giving far from being cheerful and a source of misery to  many.          The sons of Eli were given the responsibility of assisting Eli in the day to day running of the temple , including the sacrificia

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  Mark 13:34 NKJV “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.”               The word 'authority' is the Greek word ‘exousia’ and it means ability; privilege, force, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control, delegated influence. The born again Christian has been empowered to be Christ’s representative on earth. God has given us delegated influence which means we have heaven’s backing in our dealings on earth.                 To better understand the enormity of this influence, lets imagine what happens when the president of a great nation is indisposed to attend to a function , he or she by constitutional provision has the right to delegate any of his officials to represent him or her in that occasion . If there are documents to be signed, the officials’ signature is as valid as that

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Acts 9:36-41 TLB “ In the city of Joppa there was a woman named Dorcas ("Gazelle"), a believer who was always doing kind things for others, especially for the poor.  About this time she became ill and died. Her friends prepared her for burial and laid her in an upstairs room.  But when they learned that Peter was nearby at Lydda, they sent two men to beg him to return with them to Joppa.  This he did; as soon as he arrived, they took him upstairs where Dorcas lay. The room was filled with weeping widows who were showing one another the coats and other garments Dorcas had made for them. But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, "Get up, Dorcas," and she opened her eyes! And when she saw Peter, she sat up!           The bible defines  true Christian religion in James 1:27 “ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their di

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Mark 12:41-44 NLT “Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.  Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.  Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.  For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."      This scripture shows Jesus’ interest in the way we give towards missionary work. He stood with His disciples before the offering box with a clear view of how much each person gave; showing us the importance of human agents in the receiving of offerings. Heb 7:8 NIV says  “… the tenth is collected by men who die;…” God's messengers are symbols of authority through which we demonstrate our love for Him.     One would expect Jesus to have told the poor widow to ke

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Gen 14:20 KJV “And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”   Abraham had just defeated the entire armed forces of a whole nation- Sodom and her foreign allies ;an extraordinary feat  achieved through the help of 318 servants . It was nothing short of a miracle confirmed by the visit of Melchizedeck  the high priest of the most high God –an anti-type of Jesus Christ. He declared Abraham blessed after which in response to the prayers Abraham gave him tithes  - a custom in ancient Mesopotamia where a tenth portion of one’s goods at harvest was given to God through a priest as a demonstration of one’s love and acknowledgment of His ownership of the earth. This culture is still being practiced in certain parts of the world . It is the essence of libation by most African cultures.            It is worthy of note , that the blessing was declared upon Abraham before he gave the tithe