Good-life Daily Devotional

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

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 sometimes 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 also speaks of

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 a

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 sacrif

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 provisions  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

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 thei

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

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 tit

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Acts 3:19-20 NKJV  “ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,         The word 'refreshing' comes from the Greek word  ‘ anapsuxis ’  and it means: a recovery of breath, or revival and  the word ‘ times ’ refers to  an occasion. Peter was speaking to an audience of very religious persons that have gathered from around the world on a pilgrimage with the hope of being refreshed .Unfortunately , religious pilgrimages and sundry rituals do not guarantee salvation , they tend to empower the sinful nature by making us proud and full of guilt and  have to be repeated over and over again  because they cannot make a person holy, spiritually perfect and fulfilled, if they were effective,  citizens of the so-called 'holy lands' should be crime and sin free but that's not the case.         Whenever a person turns to Jesus

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Luke 10:2 “ Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. ”  KJV                  The word 'labourers' is the Greek word  ‘ ergates ’  and it means :  a toiler, a teacher. It is seems quite illogical to be asked to pray for the salvation of souls: it gives the impression that God is not  really passionate about humanity, if He did, we should not   be asked to pray for the salvation of souls. However, when viewed in the context of the meaning of the word 'labour' , we get a better understanding of what He means by asking us to pray. The word pray is the Greek word  ‘ deomai ’  and it means: to beg as binding oneself in a petition, make request. God wants us to make a commitment to be teachers of His word and to encourage the work of sending teachers to the ends of the earth to pro

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Matt 11:29 mssg Bible “ Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.”          Religion places the burden of salvation on humanity ; it demands a rigorous engagement in endless rituals (sacrifices, cleansing, fasting, pilgrimages,deliverances etc)   in a bid to gain God's acceptance.However, according to God’s plan, our salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. Under the New Testament, the burden of salvation rests solely on God and all glory goes to Him (Titus 2:13-14) TLB  says "... our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ...died under God's judgment against our sins so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others."             God is not moved by our religious zeal and displays (Col 2:19

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  Luke 8:6 KJV  ”  And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. ”         Their are various levels of commitment to God ’ s word with corresponding and proportionate effects . God is fair and just in His dealings , that is what gives Him  the moral justification to be a  judge.He  is fair in showing favour and does not  break protocols (Isaiah28:10), He is no t the author of confusion (1Cor 14.33).  Jesus  paid the price for the sins of humanity ; the unborn inclusive and His blessing is not  more on some persons than others,  the scriptures say in Eph 1:3-4 NIV … Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has  blessed   us  in the heavenly realms  with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ”    The blessing is not  only on some persons but on everybody just like the sun shines on everyone. We  a re blessed with  all  spiritual blessings;  It did not say some preacher's have 30% and others 1