Good-life Daily Devotional

  By Rev Michael Benson  Matthew12;12 -13 " And  Jesus went into the temple of God, and  cast out all them that sold and bought  in the temple, and overthrew the tables  of the moneychangers, and the seats  of them that sold doves, And said  unto them, It is written, My house shall  be called the house of prayer; but ye  have made it a den of thieves."        Acts 13:1-2:" Now there were in the church that  was at Antioch certain prophets and  teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon  that was called Niger, and Lucius of  Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been  brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and  Saul.  As they ministered to the Lord,  and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,  Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the  work whereunto I have called them".     The religious people In Jesus' time as they are today monetized the worship of God. Worshippers had to pay money for the temple services , prayer was for sale as it is today . You paid money to be  prayed for . Prayer became

     By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi       The biblical records of creation forms the bases for the gospel and during His earthly ministry Jesus made ample reference to them ( John 5:46,47,Matthew 19:4,5) . The universe was created and is sustained by God’s spoken word (Hebrews 1:3,11:3,Ps.33:6,Col.1:17)        God owns and rules the universe and can do whatever He desires  (Psalm 135:5-7) He is sovereign.The scientific ' law of cause and effect ' says to every effect there is a cause. Logic does not allow for multiple causes to an effect just as two women cannot be pregnant with the same baby .The universe is the effect of God's creation and God is the cause therefore He cannot be created.  There is no other God above Him and none besides Him (psalm 95:3, Jer.10:11-13) therefore He demands recognition and deserves reverence from His creations ( psalm148:5,Isaiah 48:12-13 ) because He has rights of ownership (Psalm 50:10-12) . It is therefore an exercise in futility to strive

   By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi John 1:3 "All  things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made  that was made." Psalm 53:1 "The fool hath said in his heart,  There is no God. Corrupt are they,  and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good."           The concept of evolution as postulated by atheists is that which teaches that through the process of abiogenesis the smallest possible organic matter was formed by atoms coming together abruptly and without a cause. And from this cell, life on earth in all its complexities evolved. This process they claim ,was preceded by a sudden explosion known as the 'big bang' which led to the creation of the universe and out of it came the first cells from where life on earth began. To believe in this theory is tantamount to believing that  mobile phones emanated from the desert .  If evolution is true then it should be a continuum with evidence of the over one billion species of living or

 By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   "So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. " Romans 9:1   "Although the fig tree shall  not blossom, neither shall fruit  be in  the vines; the labour of the olive shall  fail, and the fields shall yield no meat;  the flock shall be cut off from the fold,  and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy  in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17      The born again life is determined by the holy Spirit. The Bible says them that are led by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. Being led by the Holy Spirit does not mean a person would no longer use their brain. Failure to use common sense ( wisdom) in our daily judgments and dealings can be disastrous.      One way putting aside wisdom is the fallacy of denying the antecedent. This is what is used by many self acclaimed prophets as an escape rout when their predictions fail.     This is how it works. A prophets

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi " In the beginning God created the  heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth  was without form, and void; and  darkness was upon the face of the  deep. And the Spirit of God moved  upon the face of the waters. 3 And God  said, Let there be light: and there was  light. Genesis 1;1-3   The word 'light' in verse three is the Hebrew word   ôr  it means illumination or (concretely)  luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc ) and the word 'darkness ' is the Hebrew word chôshek it means the dark ; hence (literally) darkness ; figuratively misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness: -      The light and darkness mentioned here is repeated in Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and  the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover  the earth, and gross darkness the  people: but the Lord shall arise upon  thee, and his glory shall be seen upon  thee. 3 And th

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi     "  I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!    So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.   Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.   But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. "Ecclesiastes 2:8-11.   "High and low,   rich and poor—listen!  They trust in their wealth   and boast of great riches.  Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death     by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily,   for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave. Those who are wise must finally die,     

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Acts 8:18 -23" And when Simon saw  that through laying on of the apostles’  hands the Holy Ghost was given, he  offered them money,  Saying, Give  me also this power, that on  whomsoever I lay hands, he may  receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter  said unto him, Thy money perish with  thee, because thou hast thought that  the gift of God may be purchased with  money. Thou hast neither part nor  lot in this matter: for thy heart is not  right in the sight of God.  Repent  therefore of this thy wickedness, and  pray God, if perhaps the thought of  thine heart may be forgiven thee.   For I perceive that thou art in the gall of  bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. "     Verse 8 describes Simon in this light  *9 But there was a certain  man, called Simon, which beforetime in  the same city used sorcery, and  bewitched the people of Samaria,  giving out that himself was some great  one:"     The theology that says you can obtain power for success

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi " Then  certain of the vagabond Jews,  exorcists, took upon them to call over  them which had evil spirits the name of  the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you  by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.  And there were seven sons of one  Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests,  which did so.  And the evil spirit  answered and said, Jesus I know, and  Paul I know; but who are ye?  And  the man in whom the evil spirit was  leaped on them, and overcame them,  and prevailed against them, so that  they fled out of that house naked and  wounded."  Acts 19: ,13-16     'And these signs shall  follow them that believe; In my name  shall they cast out devils; they shall  speak with new tongues;" Mark 16:17    Demons are fallen angels on a mission to fulfill the devil's mission to kill , steal and destroy .Jesus Christ gave the born again believer power to cast out demons the day you  received him as lord and saviour Luke 10:19 . Behold, I give unto you  power

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi Acts 16:16-18  "And it came to  pass, as we went to prayer, a certain  damsel possessed with a spirit of  divination met us, which brought her  masters much gain by soothsaying:  The same followed Paul and us, and  cried, saying, These men are the  servants of the most high God, which  shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul,  being grieved, turned and said to the  spirit, I command thee in the name of  Jesus Christ to come out of her. And  he came out the same hour.  And  when her masters saw that the hope of  their gains was gone, they caught Paul  and Silas, and drew them into the  marketplace unto the rulers,"   The word 'divination' is the Greek word  Puthōn its origin is from Greek mythology where  the name of the Pythian serpent or dragon that dwelt in the region of Pytho at the foot of Parnassus in Phocis, and was said to have guarded the oracle at Delphi and been slain by Apollo. It is characterized

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi Ruth  1;16 And Ruth said, Intreat  me not to leave thee, or to return from following  after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and  where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall  be my people, and thy God my God:  17 Where  thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the  Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but  death part thee and me. 18 When she saw that  she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then  she left speaking unto her.     Proverb 15:22 '"'Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established."     The scriptures says councillors are important for the fulfilment of the divine purpose. That was what Ruth sought to get from her mother in law resulting in her marriage to Boaz a prosperous God fearing man after the death of her husband     A godly role model in marriage must be kind  the bible says in proverbs 11: 16 A  gracious woman retaineth honour: and stron

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  "Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.  They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right" . Romans 2:15    Jesus Christ did not come to introduce or promote another religion neither is he a member of any religion or sect because God hates religion because it makes man proud and promotes hatred for God and man (Mathew 23, Colossians 2:19-23) Jesus Christ came to fulfill prophesy and to fulfill the demands of the laws of Moses.  Jesus Christ did not follow the laws of Moses ( he healed on the Sabbath day Matthew 12:11-12) neither did the other prophets and Abraham    Under the new order of salvation by grace where a man is made right right with God not by self effort but by God's unilateral amnesty by reason of the atoning power of the blood

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  " And it came to pass, when Samuel was old,  that he made his sons judges over Israel.  Now  the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name  of his second, Abiah: they were judges in  Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his  ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took  bribes, and perverted judgment." 1 Samuel 8.1-3     Prophet Samuel was one of the most revered prophets in old testament times. He was groomed by a faithful mother Hannah who vowed to give him to God in appreciation for breaking the yoke of her barrenness. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 2:21' And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord."    Women have a major role to play in a persons spiritual development  because they naturally spend more time with children during the formative years  and claim more ownership to their children. The father's role is to receive instructions from t

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. "   There is a difference between love of God and Love for God .The first is God expressing his love through a person to others even if you do not have a passion for them . Case in point , is God using Jonah to save Nineveh . He did not like the Ninevites because they were known terrorists (Assyrians in present day Iraq , the forerunners of ISIS terrorists group)    Given a choice he would have preferred they perished in their sins, but God had a different idea to teach humanity the power of his love through forgiveness. The cure for sin is forgiveness and it is the greatest expression of God's love to humanity .    Humanly speaking it is difficult to love someone who deliberately hurts you . However, it is possible if we have love for God demonstrated through meditating on

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Romans 8:3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"    1John 3:5' And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.'   Religion has no cure for sin . It places emphasis on acts of  repentance , John the Baptist preached the message of repentance .The Bible says Luke 3:3"  And he came  into all the country about Jordan, preaching the  baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;,'    If you had to travel to a particular mountain to pray before you can be forgiven  your sins and be blessed , what will become of you if you were incapacitated by sickness or injury or you simply could not afford to like the cripple fellow who had no one to help him get into the healing waters in John 5:1-9 .The  demands of religion made it impossible for him to receive the blessedness of be

  Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   Jesus points out in Luke 24:27 that Moses prophesied concerning the Messiah when he said, "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Earlier in his ministry Jesus had said in John 5:46, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me." This is another reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-22.   The Jews of Jesus' time were looking forward to the fulfilment of prophet Moses' prophesy. The Bible says  "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." From this reference, it is safe to deduce that Jews were looking for a fulfillment of Moses' prophecy and equated the prophet of Deuteronomy 18 to be the same as the Messiah.   Apostle Peter made reference to Deuteronomy 18:19 in this light " Peter himself refe

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  '"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened—   burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—   it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:6 -8).    The above scripture is the revelation of Jesus Christ as given to prophet king David by the Holy Spirit. This was fulfilled in the new testament scripture "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:    ' Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,  but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings  you were not pleased.' "Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—  I have come to do your will, my God.’” "First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'—though they were offered in accordance with the l

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi   Romans 10:17 'So then  faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the  word of God. Habakuk 2:18 "What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb god and idols?   One of the many controversies surrounding the divinity of Jesus Christ is with regards to his prayers. The simple question is ' If Jesus Christ is God then to whom was he praying to.  God distinguishes himself from man- made gods (idols) by the fact that they cannot speak . God is the ultimate mind that controls the universe. The mind is the place where words are created . These words are an expression of the state of the mind at any given time and are as powerful as the mind with creative abilities. Jesus Christ is described is the word of God and is God (John 1;1-3,14ThatTimothy 3:16)    and a major characteristic of the mind is that it can speak to itself and it o

   Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi    The Messiah in the Qur’an    The word ‘masih’ is found 11 times in the Qur’an and often it is connected with the name ‘Isa' (or the Muslim Jesus), the son of Maryam, and the statement, ‘he was only a messenger.’ For example ,  "… his name is al-Masīḥ, ʿĪsā, son of Maryam” (Q. 3:45) Al-Masīḥ, ...ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, was only a messenger of Allāh… (Q. 4:171). Q. 3:45. The Asad version reads,  “…shall become known as the Christ Jesus, son of Mary…” while the Ali version reads. “… his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary…”    In 2001, Ibn Bāz, the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia issued a religious decree or a fatwa as a response to the question, “Why is Isa, the son of Maryam, called al-Masih? While speaking on the Messiah's external features he concluded that : “the benefit of knowing” about this person called Messiah for Muslims “is minimal.”     There is nothing minimal in the quest for truth and salvation , it is for this reason tha

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  God works by faith calling things that be not as though they are . Faith comes by hearing and so God speaks to himself as seen in Genesis 1:3,6,9, Humans also speak to themselves .  God is not dumb therefore he speaks through His Word ( Christ) God speaks from his mind .  His Word (Christ)  is the express image of his thoughts. His Word (Christ) is always  in him before he speaks. His word is always connected to him and is as powerful as he is though can only speak as God speaks. His word was made in an incorruptible human format so man could better relate with God given that God is all powerful and no human can withstand the  fullness of his presence. Therefore , the human manifested Word of God is an economic manifestation of God designed by him to fulfill prophesies and the demands of his law. When he spoke directly on the mountain during the time of Moses the mountain caught fire . The bible says  “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain,

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi One of the controversies among Christians and non Christians is on the number of days in Jesus' three days and three nights (Matt12:40). They say going by the twenty four hour day , if Jesus resurrected on a Sunday then he must have died on a Thursday not friday as often claimed during easter .   Ancient Bible times where not divided into 24 hours but twelve hours . This was how they did their valuations ,it was based on the Egyptian method of keeping time  "Ancient Egyptians started it by dividing day time into 12 hours. They made use of shadow clocks known as sundials. According to ABC Science, a knowledge platform, the way sundials worked was that stakes were placed in the ground and then time was measured by looking at the length and direction of the shadows of the sun.  The ancient Egyptians then divided night time into 12 hours by observing the stars.  By looking at a system of 36 star groups known as ‘decans’, they discovered that every night

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi   Dan 9:2 “ in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” NKJV     Prophet Daniel was among Jews taken into captivity by the king of Babylon as a consequence of their rebellion against God’s word. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy in   Jer 25:8,11-13.  Three years had gone by after the expiration of the seventy years trial period, and yet the Jews were still in bondage just like a lot of Christians experience unnecessary delays in many areas of life. Did God lie about their deliverance or was prophet Jeremiah a false prophet? Does the holy scriptures contradict itself ? God forbid.                  The scripture says it is the lack of knowledge and understanding that leads to bondage (Isaiah5:13). To understand scriptures, we need to interpret contexts with other context (I