Good-life Daily Devotional

    By Rev Michael    Benson Ajayi   Ephesians 6:13 AMP ” Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger],having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].   Exodus 12:22-23 “ Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning.”     Faith always demands corresponding action in line with one’s expectation. The bible describes faith as the substance of that hoped for and evidence of that not seen . For example , the person who wants to produce ice blocks from a freezer    looks at the water in a cup but sees ice . To him the water in a cup and the freezer are the substance of the ice hoped for and the evidence of the ice blocks not yet seen . Armed with this information he proceeds to make ice from the freezer.       Faith

     By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi         Matt 21:31” Which of the two did the will of the father? They replied, The first one. Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the harlots will get into the kingdom of heaven before you.” AMP Luke 13:23-24 "Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able to enter."       Many self-righteous folks will seek to enter the kingdom of God and shall not be able to enter not because God refused salvation to anyone.   "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). "The grace of God that brings salv ation has appeared to  all  men . . ." (Titus. 2:11) It is the will of God for all mankind to be saved. Jesus said the process of salvation is so easy that commercial sex workers would have a fair chance just as much a

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. Psalms 37:8 NLT And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,"   Ephesians 4:26 NLT Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 NLT Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:20 NLT Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT Bible  Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs. Proverbs 19:11 NLT Bible  But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse some

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajay Gen 19:29 KJV   “ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt ”           The word  “ remembered ”  as used in this verse of scripture is the Hebrew word  ‘ Zakar ’ , it means; to mark for the purpose of recognition.  To better understand the context in which this word is used; imagine a midwife in a maternity ward taking records of women who are about to deliver , she marks each women by writing on their file with an expected delivery time and when a woman is due she requests the woman be moved to the labour room to be delivered of her baby.  In this situation, the women were not forgotten but put  into a delivery program.  God is everywhere and in everything and cannot forget anything .      Scriptures are best understood when read  from a logical and contextual perspective. God cannot be said to be all-goo

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi           Luke 11:11 - "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?"         The statistics of victims of parental abuse is on the increase .Most victims suffer verbal, physical , emotional and even sexual abuse and the worst of them all , spiritual abuse (parental curses ,exposure to mediums ,false prophets and other demonic activities) Abuse leaves a bitter, long- lasting  impressions on us and forms part of the building block of a human being from where character is formed. This results in  an overwhelming fear of the unknown and suspicions , consequently , we are most inclined to embrace doubt instead of godly faith and become more tolerant to falsehood than truth; this is the reason behind so many failed relationships .    One of the consequences of  parental abuse is the inability to  trust God's ability to provide for us   ,we are quick

       By. Rev Michael Benson Ajayi     Ephesians 3:20 " Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"       The word 'according' as used in this text  is the Greek word 'Kata' : it means: beyond measure,far more exceeding, natural, mightily . Therefore, what this means is that the child of God has unlimited power within him or her to bring about the manifestation of a miracle beyond expectations. Our true strength is immeasurable and mighty through God.  The power of God does not exist in measures, therefore, we are fully loaded with unlimited power for a victorious life.       The doctrine that says some persons are more powerful contradicts John 3:34" For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." The anointing does not exist in sizes ; you are either anointed or not : all Spirit-filled born again Christians

      By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  Gal 5:24 AMP “ And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.”    Rom 6:2 AMP  “ Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?       To better understand  these scriptures : imagine the case of a man charged with murder  and while in prison ,he received news that he was a recipient of an amnesty program designed by the federal  government to mark the nation’s independence day celebration .  He was pardon and released but refused to put off his prison uniform. He had gotten accustomed to the old way of living in bondage and this affected his reintegration in to the society.  The life of the sinner  is similar to being in prison, there are many persons in the church bound by the old way of living and this is behind the rise in all manner of evil addictions that have torn families and wrecked communities. Bondage is a state of the mind,

   Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi     Isa 51:1-2 NKJV "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness,   You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.   Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For  I called him alone ,And  blessed  him and  increased him ."    There are  no two callings from the lord that are the same and responding to a divine calling requires going through great preparations. The magnitude of the assignment determines the duration of the preparation process and it has to be done alone. Abraham was alone when God gave him the assignment of starting the family of faith from where everyone that is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ originates. It was an arduous task to embark on a journey of self actualization and faith while travelling through the desert with the attendant risks of death from heat and attacks from criminals. He did not allow any of such worries dete

   Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi        Isa 32:1-5 NLT “  Look a righteous king is coming! And honest  princes will rule under him. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert  and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land. Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.  Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly.  In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected.”     This is a prophesy concerning the end time church just before the second manifestation of  Jesus Christ in bodily form. It predicts a paradigm shift in governance globally, were righteousness will be the fundamental quality that would determine a person’s success in an election.      There would be no room for those who have compromised on their righteousness by promoting the world’s selfish ideals. The body of

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 NLT The theology that says that women are inferior to men is illogical and not scriptural given that we all came from the womb of a woman. These teachers often misrepresent the scriptures in 1 Tim 2:11-13 which says “ Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman   to teach , nor to   usurp authority over the man , but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve”.KJV . this scripture is not saying it is a sin for a women to teach a man , if that was the case then female lecturers in universities and teachers should quit teaching , female medical doctors and nurses should not instruct     male patients on drug usage and mothers should not instruct their grown sons on life’s issues, and female police traffic wardens should not give  instructions to men on traffic patrols also female banker

    By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi    Luke 19:17”And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” KJV        This parable illustrates the relationship between promotion and accountability.  Grace  is often defined as an “unmerited favour” this implies to an extent that the outcome of our decisions on earth excludes any form of impute from us. By this theology,fellow who ran the fastest in a  100 meter  Olympic  race should not necessarily be given the gold medal even if he ran according to laid down rules and regulations. This belief has led to a lot of mediocrity among God’s people and corruption in society. It gives no room for accountability, probity and transparency which are a sine qua non for  positive development in any community. God’s mercy is neither merited nor unmerited however; its acknowledgment by the recipient is what warrants its validity in a person’s life.Therefore,it is through grati

  YOU CAN BE RICH AND YET ANOINTED By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi    “… And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he  also is a son of Abraham … . ”  Luke 19:2-9              In Mark 10 : 17-21 Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give to the poor, the reason being that he had more value for material wealth than for God. Money had become his god. That is the condition of every person that easily takes offense whenever money is mentioned for the purpose of benevolence and missionary work.   Zacchaeus was very rich and was despised by the poor , probably because he was a tax collector, an occupation that attracts more foes than friends . It is also common to see the rich being relegated to the background in church activities, they are considered as  ‘ not being spiritual enough ’  as though poverty is a virtue to be celebrated in the church of Christ. It is God ’ s will that we prosper materially (3John1:2). Sin is no respecter of

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi          John 11:5 "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."John 11:5           No matter how dysfunctional a child may be, no loving parent would be glad to see their two-year old drown in a swimming pool ,instead, they would do everything necessary to rescue that child.Usually those at the forefront of our church activities are usually those we consider better behaved with good education and reputation in society .  Martha was the exact opposite of this  that’s why the scriptural reference of Jesus’ love for Martha is note worthy in Luke 10:38-42  Martha was caught up with serving instead of devotion time to Jesus and her priorities were misplaced.        In that event Jesus chastised Martha  for her own good. When the Lord points out our errors even when it hurts, it is ultimately for our own good and it eventually brings out the best in us   - We should  not consider it as an act of  punishment, hate or  rejection. God convicts and

    By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  “But when Peter came to   Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong.  When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don’t bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say” Galatians 2: 11-12 TLB            Peter was invited to a dinner party hosted by Gentiles, which  involved participating in religiously unclean foods (by old testament standards ) including pork , and lots of alcohol , and as soon as some religious legalist and so-called ‘super Christians’ appeared, he was thrown in to self condemnation and withdrawal . Satan often attacks God’s precious people with guilt and self condemnation resulting in withdrawal and isolation .You cannot give your best under such conditions. Jesus Christ will never take sides with the accuser to condemn

     Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Isaiah 40: 29 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."       Life is a battle for survival  requiring enormous strength to pull through. The scriptures refers to it as wrestling. This is more so because,  the life of the Christian runs contrary to what obtains in the world. It's like running against runners in a marathon race.            The perspective on life of the born again believer is mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed to the world's.  The world's system thrives on selfishness,  pride and deceit,  Romans 3:4 says every man is a liar. The world's culture is characterized by rebellion and it is powered by Satan: the prince of the power of the air.  The scriptures says in Ephesians 2:2 "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this  world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that  now worketh in the children of disobedience:&qu