Good-life Daily Devotional

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  " Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground." Hebrews 11:35‭-‬38 NLTBible.     The biblical and historical accounts of the harrowing experiences the early church passed through in the hands of brutal regimes led by unbelieving leaders is what many modern African church followers will ascribe to the effect of ancestral curses. , marine spirit attack ,Ogbanje  generational curses and so on. But it was none of such but a

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living."2 Thessalonians 3:10‭-‬12 NLTBible       God loves us and it is his will to supply your needs . The scriptures says he knows what we have need of before we ask (Matthew6:8) Therefore. we should take no thoughts or be worried on how we can make ends meet ( Matthew6:25,31,32) God provides for the wicked unbelievers (Matthew 5:45) and animals . If he cares for them how much more the believer. Wild animals like lions have to hunt for prey ,likewise , we have a role to play in the supply of our needs. Supplies can be hindered by unrepentant sin or disobedience , the bible says " Your wickedness has depriv

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 NLTBible   "First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord ?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name." Proverbs 30:8‭-‬9 NLTBible     God wants the best for us , he created all things for  us to enjoy. While seeking for  fulfillment it is important we differentiate between our wants from our needs .    A 'Want' is a desire to possess or do something , it is a wish .On the other hand a need  is something we require because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable.      Food is a necessity so is clothes but not a house . You can do without a house by squatting with someone while you cannot do without food and clothes. Most

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?"Romans 8:32 NLTbible “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?  Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."Matthew 7:7‭-‬11 NLT    The above scriptures describes the  relationship that exists between God and us, it  is like that between parents and children.. As a parent I  want the best for my children within my means and so is with every  parent.    God is the

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi "After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him.  But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message: “What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” 2 Chronicles 35:20‭-‬21 NLTbible       The importance of having the spirit of discernment cannot be overemphasized . This is why seeking for divine wisdom on a daily basis should be part of prayers . Many Christians have the impression that being busy and zealous for missionary work is a substitute for critical reasoning and discernment. This has led to painful losses and even death of some of God's people and the question has been how can God allow this happen to this faithful brothe

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi "no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home."Psalms 91:10 NLT  " Praise the Lord , who did not let their teeth tear us apart! We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!" Psalms 124:6‭-‬7 NLT    God's care for his children is all encompassing , like a mother hen, he hides us under the cover of his wings of love and leads us to the place of unlimited provisions.       That does not mean that the life of the believer is devoid of crisis ., however in the face of both spiritual and physical threats he has promised to keep us safe .Whenever the enemy sets a trap to catch us the word of God says " For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease." Psalms 91:3 NLT   He promises us safety from physical injury , the scriptures says " They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. ...”Mark

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   "Seek the Lord , all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.' Zephaniah 2:3 NLT   " Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors." Psalms 71:2‭-‬4 NLTbible      Jesus Christ predicted that there shall be an increase in wickedness prior to his second coming . Insecurity is caused by God as a test as in Job's case (Job 1  and Job 2) insecurity is also caused by Satan with  God's permission and lastly by man due to lack of wisdom ,the bible says "Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins."  Psalms 107:17 NLTbible and &

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words " II Chronicles 32:8 NKJVBible  "Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together." Isaiah 31:3 NKJVBible      The believer's life involves confronting the challenges of life both physically and spiritually . Not all challenges are spiritual , all that may be required in some cases is knowledge of a physical process. For example , boiling a kettle of water for tea is a problem that should not be considered as a spiritual problem.      Treat physical problems as requiring physical solutions and spiritual problem as requiring spiritual solutions.   The enemy is a spirit but operates in the physical more than the spiritual

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” John 5:8‭, ‬14 NLTbible     It is God's will to be healed and we have a role to play in receiving and maintaining our healing . Classic car owners can maintain a car for over two hundred years and this requires proper preservation and maintenance techniques , likewise the human body requires proper preservation and maintenance to remain healthy .     When the man in John 5 obeyed the Lord's command he received his healing "  Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, "John 5:8‭-‬9 NLTbible  The bible says ' He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death." Psalms 107:20 NLTbibl

  Rev Michael Benson Ajayi" For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all sin is fatal."1 John 5:16‭-‬17 MSGBible.      1Timothy 5: 22 'Lay hands suddenly on  no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins:  keep thyself pure."             These scriptures clearly states it is not every case of sickness that a believer in Jesus Christ should engage in prayers. The word 'suddenly'  in 1 Timothy 5:22 is the Greek word ' tacheōs ' it means ( in manner) speedily , briefly , hastily , rapidly . Doing this is very dangerous ,many preachers have become casualties of sharing in someone's unrepentant sins with lives l

  By Michael Benson Ajayi  "Jesus Christ is  the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8 NKJV " And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them." Matthew 4:23‭-‬24 NKJV    The healing ministry of Jesus Christ involved him healing people regardless of their background because it is God's will to heal the sick . Healing was an integral part of Jesus' ministry ( Matt.11;15, Matt.9;35) and his healing promises are still valid today .   The scriptures says  in Malachi 3:6 NKJV “For I am the Lord , I do not change;.." He is healing through his anointed servants . He created medical science to reach more peo

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  'You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" Isaiah 26:3 NLT"  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?" Psalms 56:11 NLTbible       Peace is the absence of disturbance , it is a state of tranquility . It is not necessarily the absence of problems but the assurance that the outcome of any event will be to ones' advantage and to the glory of God.      With this understanding it is possible to be in an abusive situation and be in peace . The Bible speaks of Joseph's incarceration in Egypt , he was not guilty of any crime but was framed up by his boss's wife . The scripture says the Lord was with him in prison .Before his imprisonment  " The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master." Genesis 39:2 NLTbible  and while in prison " The warden had no more worries, because Jo

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”Joshua 1:9 NLTbible    ‘Thus says the Lord : “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”II kings 19:6‭-‬7 NKJVbible.       Fear is the opposite of faith , it is Satan's weapon against God's people. Whenever we start listening to Satan's lies the more afraid we become. Truth cures fear while lies promotes it .The majority of what we watch , read , hear from today's media are sensationally designed to cause panic . Fear sells more in today's world than truth. That's why there is so much fear in the world.     God promises his people peace " The Lord will give strengt

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi "About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. ) But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. Acts of the Apostles 12:1‭-‬3‭, ‬5 NLTBible     Spiritual warfare is the process of the enforcement of God's mandate for the advance of his kingdom agenda by engaging and resisting the devil and his agents by grace through faith demonstrated through prayer, fasting and strategic productive hard work while meditating on the word of God.    The devil seeks to keep people away from being saved and he has agents like king Herod, in other to please the Antichrist he began killing the disciples. Peter the first general overseer was imprisoned with plans to have him executed but the church decided to take t

 By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  " And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,     who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15  "You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. " 2 Timothy 2:2   The English dictionary defines a leader as " the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country."      The strength of any group or society is determined by the integrity of the fabric of the culture that binds them together . Culture is the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.      It is like the model of a building to be replicated by a property developer in building an estate . If the model is strong enough and the building conditions constant then the entire estate will be filled with strong  buildings. That is how leadership is ,humans are likened to houses , t

 By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   “Listen, you leaders ..! You are supposed to know right from wrong, but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive  and tear the flesh from their bones.  Yes, you eat my people’s flesh,   strip off their skin,  and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot.  Then you beg the lord for help in times of trouble!  Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done,     he won’t even look at you!”        This is what the lord says:  “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food,     but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you. Now the night will close around you,  cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you,   putting an end to your predictions.          The sun will set for you prophets, and your day will come to an end. Then you seers will be put to shame,  and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced. And you will cover

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi 'He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.' I John 3:8 NKJVBible 'Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."Luke 10:19 NKJVBible    The battle between good and evil is ongoing with no break period and there are no neutral grounds in the battlefield : a person is either on God's side or Satan's . “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."Revelation 3:15‭-‬16 NKJVBible     An inactive Christian is as dangerous as the enemy , he or she is like a weapon that would not function in the battlefield . The believer is a light to a dark world . A light that refuses

   By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi 'For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"II Corinthians 10:3‭-‬5 NKJV     Humanity is engaged in a spiritual warfare : on one side is Satan and his demons seeking for souls to take along with him to hell . On the other side are God's people with a mission to spread the gospel of the kingdom and win souls for the Lord.      The battle is for the control of the human mind :  a person is either under the influence of the Holy Ghost or Satan and it is in our place to choose who should take control over our minds and indirectly our lives . This happens through our thoughts and most importantly our words . There is a war of words taking place in our minds ( Eph6:12-13) 

   By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi v "He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless." Isaiah 40:29 NLTBible      Thermodynamics is the branch of physical science that deals with the relations between heat and other forms of energy (such as mechanical,  chemical energy, electrical , potential ) and how they relate with each other.  The first law of thermodynamics says: the total quantity of energy in the universe remains constant. This is the principle of the conservation of energy .The second law of thermodynamics states : the quality of this energy is degraded irreversibly. This is the principle of the degradation of energy. This means the physical world and it's elements are in a process of deterioration .   This means naturally we would experience weaknesses , our bodies are made out of chemicals and are subject to aging and deterioration.     The bible speaks of the deterioration of the world and its system   "Those who use the things of the world should n

  "He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?" 1 Timothy 3:4‭-‬5 NLTBible      The Bible defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman and it is a gift from God designed for sexual pleasure ,mutual assistance , companionship and to create a healthy and safe environment where children will be raised into becoming servants of God. The family is a microcosm of the church and Jesus Christ.      Jesus Christ gave rules concerning the family . " In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself."Ephesians 5:28 NLT and " And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.&qu

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!" Proverbs 14:23 NLTBible Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent;     with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. "Proverbs 17:28      The power to build and destroy lies in the tongue ; we are spirits and our words whether audible or inaudible can affect our lives . The woman with the issue of blood was healed by faith expressed through inaudible words . The Bible says " Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Matthew 9:20‭-‬21 NLTBible.    Thoughts are powerful , someone could be poor because of poverty generating thoughts often manifested in the form of unsubstantiated excuses to justify failure . Our thoughts are the products of the information we have received through schools, the military , media and entertai

 Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi "While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers : “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question."Acts 15:1‭-‬2 NLT  There is most likely to be ideological differences in families and organizations. This is as a result of difference in perspectives . We should be open to criticism because it gives us the opportunity to see things from all angles .There are however situations when a person or group of persons refuses to analyse issues critically towards arriving at the truth , to avoid errors being accepted as a way of life such persons should be confronted with the truth . This is one major reason for disputes that could result in disun

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  " May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5‭-‬6 NLTBible     Disunity occurs when we allow the pursuit of our individual interest override a common goal. We should be driven by a desire to fulfill a divine purpose : salivation of souls for God's kingdom  . Fulfilment in life comes from the pursuit of a vision that is larger than life . You were created to do more than you imagine you can do and through the word of God we know we cannot accomplish this without human assistance . We need each other .    It is against this backdrop that the spirit of unity is needed to help  us actualize our purpose in life . The Bible says "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves to