Good-life Daily Devotional

RELIGION ALIENATES US FROM GOD ,WE CAN'T BE SAVED BY IT John 6:28, "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"JOHN 6:24-29     All  mankind has throughout history been seeking ways to do the works of God. Man was created with a part in us which latently seeks for a superior authority. We were created to worship and be worshipped . Undeniably, everyone has a consciousness within them of the reality of God (Rom. 1:18-20), and a desire to be right with Him. However, just as with the religious folks in the above verse, very few agree with the Lord as to how to perform this duty .                    Many people today like these religious folks are willing to do something to obtain salvation, but they are not willing to commit themselves to Jesus and accept His gift.This is one of the reasons why man finds it hard commit to a lifetime relat...

WHERE THE MIND GOES THE BODY FOLLOWS CHANGE YOUR MIND Mark 7:21, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders." MARK 7:17-23       The human heart ( centre of consciousness) is a container that can contain two or more spirits like in the case of demon possessed person. The born again spirit does not posses the capacity to do evil. It has God's nature and is governed by love.          The most frequent usage among the many usage for the word "spirit" in scriptures refers to either the Spirit of God ( Holy Spirit)  or the spirit of man. Man is a three-part being : a Spirit with a soul living in a body. (1 Th. 5:23). The word "spirit" can also describe a mental disposition . The mental faculty controls the physical world.    Our thoughts lead to our actions or behaviour and this leads to our character and finally our destiny . Therefore, we determine ...

YOU DON'T NEED TO LOOK RELIGIOUS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. IT' ALL ABOUT THE HEART.       God does not need a brand name to approve of your membership for you to be blessed of Him, neither does he need anybody's approval before saving you from trouble. "Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man."JOHN 7:21-24     The covenant of circumcision was given to Abram in Gen. 17:9-14. In v. 14, the penalty for a man not carrying this sign of the covenant in his flesh was a death sentence. This was how important the act of circumcision was. The bible in Rom. 4:3-13, says that Abraham had already been declared right with God by faith before he was circumcised. It was Abram's faith that saved him before the Lord commanded Abram to be circumcised. This was at least twelve years prior to his circumcision .      Religious folks put their focus on th...

UNMASKING THE REAL ENEMY Mark 8:33, "But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: forthou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."MARK 8:30-33Jesus was not implying that Peter and Satan were one-and-the-same, but was referring to the fact that Satan had inspired Peter's statement. This is metaphorically similar as that used in the garden of Eden when God spoke to the serpent in (Gen. 3:15) as though addressing Satan. The serpent was merely the vehicle of communication Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve, while Peter was the vehicle Satan used to tempt Jesus. Ephesians 6:12 reveals that our warfare isn't with people, but against the spiritual powers who inspire and use people.       Jesus recognized Satan's voice behind Peter's reaction about His death and ressurection, so He went right to the source. God's people are at war. There is a perpetual struggle agains...

 By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi John 10:10 "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). AMP        The Greek word translated "life" here is "zoe" and it means life in the absolute sense, a life of abundance  , Jesus came to save us from hell and give us this "zoe" or God-kind of life in abundance( having more than enough of every good thing . The life in Christ is different from the physical life, it is a life satiated with God's goodness. We do not need to wait until we get to heaven before before we enjoy this kind of life        This life is presently at work in the spirit of every born-again person.It is however, hindered by the natural or animalistic character. This supernatural or Zoe life is made possible when we denying any thoughts(Gal.5.19-21) emotions, or actions that are contrary to the Word of God...

RELGION CANNOT MAKE YOU A GOOD PERSON IN THE SIGHT OF GOD John 9:34 "They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out."      Religious folks have a problem was spiritual pride, as revealed in this statement. They are so blinded by their arrogance and presumptouness that they couldn't believe anyone who hadn't been through their "Religious training school" could teach them anything. The word "Pharisees" means "separate." in the Hebrew tongue. This sect was synonymous with extreme devotion to the Mosaic law and commitment to leading an isolated life. They are by- products of Jewish returnees from the Babylonian captivity, and they were influenced by the pagan customs of the Babylonians everywhere. It was set up to give the Jewish state an identity and cultural  foundation upon which moral codes premised on the Mosaic laws where instituted .       They were patriots and rel...

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Matthew 17:27 "Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take, and give unto them for me and thee." MATTHEW 17:24-27 What a miracle! Not only was the money supplied for their taxes, but it was the exact amount needed, and it was from the first fish that was caught.           This is a confirmation that God also supplies needs in a miraculous way, it's important to remember that God doesn't counterfeit money. He didn't create money in the fish, but rather he had the fish miraculously find and swallow the exact Roman coin that Peter needed. In ancient times coins where thrown into the river for goodwill. It's a mistake to just pray and then wait on God to rain the money down from heaven. As Luke 6:38 says, God uses men (and sometimes fish) to give finances t...

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad."          Abraham had the revelation of the truth of the day when man shall be justified by faith and not by the works of self-effort (Rom. 4:13), and he believed it and was himself justified by faith (Rom. 4:3-4, 9).He was ecstatic by the good news. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him." It was Abraham's faith that pleased God. Faith is one's total reliance on God  for existence it is like being in an airplane 30.000 feet above sea level , at that point , one's life is in the hands of the pilot till the plane lands so likewise is our faith.         The Lord promised Abraham that his seed would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore and Abraham believed God. That pleased Him so much that he counted Abraham righteous right then, even though Abraham had not yet fulf...

IN GOD'S SPOT LIGHT John 9:35 "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" JOHN 9:35 By seeking for this man Jesus brought him into God's spotlight . Jesus sought this man out when others had forsaken him. The acceptance of Jesus is worth more than everything this world has to offer This is what launches a person into prominence with overflowing joy amidst difficulties. When our sufferings in Christ abound, then the consolation of Christ abounds much more.Those who for fear of persecution refuse to tell people about the gospel, do not have Jesus seeking them out (Jn. 9:22).They chose the company of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, which is exactly what they get.        Even though the believer is redeemed and delivered from many afflictions that were a result of sin and its power, we are still called to partake in what the scriptures call the "sufferings or afflictio...

HEARING GOD'S VOICE John 10:2-3 "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth themJOHN 10:1-21         The safety of the sheep is tied to its ability to hear and recognize the voice of the shepherd. God's people hear His voice. God's people doubt the truth of this statement based on their experience. They don't think they can hear God's voice. However, the Word of God is true - not ours . God is speaking to you right now, the challenge is being able to recognize His voice. It is our new born-again spirit that hears God's voice. Although God has spoken and still does speak in an audible voice at times, very few people experience this. God speaks to our inner person , the subconscious i.e the (spirit) and our inner person hears Him. The problem comes when we aren't sensitive to, or controlled by, our spirit but are walking in ...

GOD TRUELY LIKES YOU NO MATTER WHAT .....! Matthew 18:14 "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."MATTHEW 18:12-14 The world is full of victims of abuse and love is a rare commodity . It is against this backdrop that the message of God's unconditional love for us when preached seems unreal , most people would say if God so loved us ,why does he allow so much sufferings in the world .As difficult as it may sound the irrevocable truth still remains that we are the objects of God's love. God's plans for our salvation was not driven by a sense of pity for us or of moral obligation to save us. He saved us because of His infinite love for us (Jn. 3:16).God loves people. He even loves those who rebel against Him. As Jesus said in a similar parable (Lk. 15:7), "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, whic...

IT'S TIME FOR PROMOTION Promotion demands humility. Matthew 18:4 "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." MATTHEW 18:1-5; MARK 9:30-37; LUKE 9:46-48 Jesus used a little child to illustrate humility. Babies have a purity and humility that is many times missing in adults, they certainly are not selfless. A child comes into the world totally self-centered, wanting what he wants when he wants it. Parents are to train children out of this selfishness . One of humility's dominant characteristics is a God-dependency and not a self-sufficiency. The truth of humility being the key to greatness or success was not new Jesus gave it a new meaning through His selfless disposition . This path of self-denial to greatness is exactly opposite to the world's path of exalting self at everyone else's expense. The path of humility could not possibly work if there was no God. We would simply be trample...

THIS IS HOW TO INCREASE FAITH Matthew 17:20 "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."MATTHEW 17:9-20; MARK 9:9-27; LUKE 9:37-42The disciples' unbelief in this instance was not a disbelief in God's power to produce deliverance, but rather a human kind of unbelief that came from an insensitive heart that yeilded more to factual or circumstantial evidence than to what it believed in God's word. Just as it takes a little spark from a matchstick to set a whole forest ablaze ,likewise only very small amount of faith a "mustard seed"is sufficient to remove a mountain, if no unbelief is present to hinder it.Unbelief is like fire extinguisher that quenches the fire of faith .Jesus was disappointed that His disciples had not been able to cast thi...