Good-life Daily Devotional

By Rev. Michael  Benson Ajayi   John 21:6 NKJV  “ And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. ”         The world's economic system is not sustainable Ecclesiastes TLB 5:11-12 says  “ The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth-except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers! ”  God does not want you to labour in vain . The scriptures say in Isaiah 3:10  “ Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned! ”  He desires that we  prosper and be in good health (3John2). We have been delivered from  the curse of poverty (Galatians 3:13) therefore, it is not proper to say  "God made me poor". That is contrary to His divine nature .God wants us to be rich spiritually and materially to promote the gospel  . 2 C

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  Mark 7:5, "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can  defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man."     The human heart is the center of consciousness or awareness ; it is where creativity takes place. It is like a factory or the central processing unit of a computer. Whatever information is received into the heart is processed, multiplied and manifested whether good or bad . It is also the seat of wisdom. The information we constantly pay attention to and become conscious of , soon becomes our reality , resulting in corresponding actions and a life pattern or character and eventually a destiny; either good or bad. We are the masters of our destinies.           The relationship between human action and the spirit of God is like that of an airplane pilot and the wind .A good pilot studies the wind to ensure a safe flight .Jesus said in John 3:8 that  “ The wind blows wherever it want

    By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi    "You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face." 2 Corinthians 11:20 NLTBible     The church in Corinth consisted of persons with a culture of abuse , a case in point was the young man who was in a sexual  relationship with his step mother . Prior to Paul's letter in 1 Corinthians 5: the church was dominated by persons who supported this lifestyle ,this young man was cheating on his dad .     One of the errors common in young churches is the appointment of spiritually immature persons to the position of leadership , in a bid to grow the church and for material benefits many pastors fall victim of this trap .      This  results in a culture of abuse in the society : a perfect recipe for an invasion by false prophets whose targets are the emotionally vulnerable especially women . That was the situation in the Corinthian church . The s

  Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi   Ps 37:4 NKJV   “ Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. ”           The word  ‘ delight ’  as used here is the Hebrew word  ‘ anag  ‘ which means to be soft or pliable, figuratively it means to be effeminate or luxurious. It is like the interaction between a woman and a man in love with each other. An example of this in scripture is what transpired between Jesus Christ and the woman with the precious perfume in Matt 26:7-8 NKJV   “ a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. ”  This was a luxurious experience for the lord; a Nazarene.Culture did not allow comb or razor to come near the hair of a Nazarene as a sign devotion to God (Number 6:5.) Therefore, having precious oil  poured on His hair locks was a beautiful experience considering the hot climate of the Middle East.         She did not stop at that, the scripture says in

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi 'Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome." 1 Kings 1:6 NLT. Bible  King David was nearing his last days on earth and it was customary for the king to name a successor and he had to make a choice between the handsome vivacious and eloquent son Adonijah or solomon who was not known for words but was disciplined by his parents .       The Bible says in 1 kings 1:6 that king David never brought himself to discipline his very handsome son Adonijah. Good looks can be mesmerising and deceptive , parents tend not to discipline beautiful looking children , they eventually grow into adulthood ill-equipped  to make the right choices in marriages ,relationships,  businesses, academics etc with many becoming casualties of the ruthless and selfish world's system.       The human life is like a paper kite in the wind , wi

    By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Deuteronomy 5:16 NLT Bible    “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town must ... In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid." Deuteronomy 21:18‭-‬21 NLT Bible         The old testament prescribed capital punishment for rebellion against one's parents , this may not apply in the new testament however , it shows the extent to which God values the law of family honour.     The family is the bu

  By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi Rev.22:2 'In the midst of the street  of it, and on either side of the river, was there the  tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits,   and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves  of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Isaiah 61:3 "..that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."    When God created the first family in Eden he blessed them to be fruitful and to multiply , Gen1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."  The word 'fruitful ' is the Hebrew word pârâh ,it means to grow ,cause to be , make ,increase . The word 'multiply' is the Hebrew word râbâh, it means to become many, enlarge , be in authority , heap , nour

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  "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 Bible      The family is a microcosm of the relationship between God and the church . The church is described as a bride and Jesus Christ the groom . The Holy Ghost is the driving force behind the church. He is God : the anointing and the anointer. He determines how fruitful a marriage  or family would be.      The world has a concept of what amounts to a fruitful marriage. It is centered on material features : children , houses, money etc  . This is far from what the scriptures describes as being fruitful . Adam and Eve did not have money while in the garden of Eden and they where amply supplied .  Children could grow up to become armed robbers and terrorists therefore having children does not translate to being fruitful . Abraham was declared blessed (fruitful) before Isaac was bo

   By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi  " For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority."  1 Corinthians 11:10 NLT Bible     "Yes, praise the Lord , you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!" Psalms 103:21 NLT Bible      The word 'angels ' is the Hebrew word mal'âk it means , messenger, representative, priest or teacher,  or prophet  or supernatural theophanic being . The bible describes these figures as belonging to an army. The army is synonymous with regimentation and authority is well defined . Breaking of ranks is an abomination in the military and the same applies in the realm of the spirit . The scriptures says in  Joel 2:7 'They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:"     This describes the operations of God's messengers , they cannot fun

  Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi   “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Deuteronomy 5:16 NLT "      Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1‭-‬3 NLT Bible       The family is the building block of the church community and the nation . God instituted the laws governing the family and he is the head of the family. The laws governing families are sacred and the violation of these laws could result in unpleasant consequences and even loss of life . An example , is the rebellion led by David's son Absalom against him that resulted in the death of Absalom ( 2 Samuel chapter 13 to chapter 19). Another is that of Eli and

      By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi   Acts 9:26 -27'And when  Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join  himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid  of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.  But Barnabas took him, and brought  him to  the apostles, and declared unto them how he had  seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken  to him, and how he had preached boldly at  Damascus in the name of Jesus."      Here you have a newly converted Saul now called Paul after his miraculous spiritual rebirth by the Holy Ghost while on his way to  Syria . He had spearheaded the oppression of the early Christian using the instruments of government.    After his conversion , he began preaching the message of the kingdom in the same territories where he was once celebrated as a dictator. It was no surprise then that his admirers - the religious Jews turned against him with a plan to kill him . The scriptures says "Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, an

       By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him." Philippians 1:29 NLT Bible      The life of the believer is a battle against the world's sinful system . The world's system is governed by Satan and his demons expressing themselves through human agents (2Corinthians.4:4) . The world's system rewards those working contrary to the gospel with the intent of disregarding the holy scriptures.     The world's system is gradually infiltrating into the church and it is distinguishable by the following characteristics enumerated in 2 Timothy 3:1‭-‬5 MSG "Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted t

     Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  Matt 16:20 KJV  “ Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ ”        It was expected that the disciples would have been encouraged to make Jesus Christ known while He was yet with them  but the contrary was the case as revealed in the above scripture. There are two major reasons behind this . First, it was to fulfill the prophecy in John 1:10-11 KJV  “ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ”             Value is a function of the cost expended in the pursuit of an ideal.  We only place value on objects that cost us something to acquire. Adam was freely given wisdom in the Garden of Eden which he never truly valued rather, it was that which cost him his relationship with God that he had more value for (Genesis 3:4-7)  Naturally , scarcity increases value  .             Secondly, Jesus' instruction to keep his ident

  Rev Michael Benson Ajayi KJV Mark 14:3..6 "And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."    ..."And Jesuus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.”            The word ‘good’  in this text is the Greek word  ‘kalos’ and it means ‘beautiful’, valuable or virtuous (for appearance or use, and thus distinguished)’ .  This verse of scripture demonstrates the importance of aesthetics in the presentation of the message of the kingdom. The English dictionary defines beautiful as “possessing  qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind:”   Beauty is attractive that is why Satan uses this attribute of creation in propagating rebellion against God's law. Beauty is a quality of Godliness that has been corrupted to

     "Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord ’s sight. They served ...the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all. So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites, who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in Gilead)."Judges 10:6‭-‬8 NLT Bible     The Israelites were considered as God's special people by reason of his covenant with Abraham . Abraham is known as the father of faith : the quintessential role model to the three major monotheistic religions  Christianity , Islam and Judaism because of his devotion to God . He was willing to sacrifice Isaac his pride and joy as a demonstration of his love and faith in God .      It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s

  By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi  'Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. "  Proverbs 19:2  " People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the lord. "  Proverbs 19:3   Banks often carry out risks assessments before issuing out loans this is to safeguard against loss of depositors funds.  Due diligence is expected from God's people before giving out God's money . The money in our possession is not ours but God's and we are accountable to him on how it is managed.     Federal financial institutions are designed to regulate the movement of currencies to avert economic collapse and a state of anarchy . Imagine what will happened it we woke up to a situation where money losses value to the point of buying a loaf of bread for a billion naira. That's what will happen with more money in the economy than goods in a lawless society .It is the duty of born again Christians to daily pray for the success of government

    By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi "Some who are poor pretend to be rich;  others who are rich pretend to be poor."  Proverbs 13:7 "Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time." Proverbs 13:11  "  Greedy people try to get rich quick     but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty. ,"  Proverbs 28:22      "Desperate times calls for desperate measures" is a maxim that drives most motivational preachers . Jesus Christ warned against anxiety and desperation .He said “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Matthew 6:31-32  bible says  ,,"  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. " , Philippians 4:6  Desperation results in a loss of faith in God and b