ojaysjoel blog

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) The quality of the knowledge you have determines the quality of your life. The children of God are encouraged to enrich their hearts with the Word of God (Colossians 3:16). Beloved, do you know your duty as a child of God? The answer to this question is expressed in our opening scripture: the whole duty of the child of God is to fear God and do His commandment. To fear God means to know that the LORD is God and worship Him; it also means to love what God loves and hate what God hates. Finally, it means to give God the first place in your life, decisions, and choices. Beloved, those who fear the LORD do His commandments (Isaiah 1:19). Thus, those who do not do the Word of God do not fear God (Isaiah 1:20). Dear beloved, spend time with the Word of God so that you come to know your heavenly Father and do His Word. If you are able to do this, y...

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; Romans 5:3" Devotion : One of the best moments of every child of God is the day he or she became born again. It is a day when your heart is glad and rejoices because you are saved by Jesus Christ for eternal life so that you can have fellowship with the Father and be called a child of God. During the course of your relationship with God, you will go through tribulations. There are many of them, and they are unique to every child of God; it is a training that God gives His children so that they can be empowered to endure the difficult times in life. Find a way to rejoice in the midst of the tribulations because of what they will produce in you. They will produce patience, experience, and hope in you. Patience, experience, and hope will then defeat all forms of shame in your life, and you will be a better person for God to use to bless the rest of the world. Praise the Lord! Share yo...

"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1" Devotion : The psalmist called to his family and friends to worship God through songs. When you come to know the Lord, there is something that cannot be separated from Him: He loves music and expects His creation to worship and praise Him through songs and hymns. The psalmist called Him the Rock of Salvation. Dear beloved, who is God to you? Is He also the rock of your salvation? If indeed He is the rock of your salvation, you will call your family every dawn to worship and engage your family in devotion before the morning starts. When you do this, your day will be full of good tidings, and all things will begin to work together for your good because you love God and are called according to His purpose. Call your friends to worship if you don't have a family, and you will be creating a family of friends unto the Lord. May God give you a heart of worship to worship and ...

"In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Psalm 71:1" Devotion : Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; it is also one in which confidence is placed. Trust is something that everyone cherishes and holds in high esteem. When trust is broken, many untoward things happen: There is loss of faith, sadness, disappointment, confusion, etc. The psalmist, at one time, put his trust in people, and in the end, he was disappointed and confused. This time he put his trust in the Lord and prayed that God would honor his trust. In the end, God honored him, and his confidence in the Lord grew stronger and stronger. Dear beloved, never put your trust in people or anything other than the Lord. Let your whole trust and confidence be in God, and He will honor His Word concerning you. Sometimes there will be delays, but never lose your trust in Him, because He is the only dependable being in the whole univ...

Morning Exceeding great and precious promises. — 2 Peter 1:4 If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfilment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favour which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart.  But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, “If I were dealing with a man’s promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the p...

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? Luke 10:36" Devotion : Jesus Christ is a great God and always has a perfect answer for any questions that are bothering us. Jesus Christ was teaching when a certain lawyer who wanted to justify himself asked Jesus who his neighbor was. Now, according to the dictionary definition, a neighbor is a person who lives next to or near another person. However, in the Kingdom of God, being a neighbor requires an action. Anyone who meets the need of another person is a neighbor to that person. Jesus Christ used the parable of the good Samaritan to explain what it is to be a neighbor in the Kingdom of God (Luke 10:30-35). Dear beloved, don't just live next to or close to a person but minister to the need of that person so that you can be a true neighbor to them. Praise the Lord! Share your comments here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudybible.bible.kjv.bibleverses.bibleo...

"Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: Acts 18:9" Devotion : Apostle Paul, in his ministry on Earth, came to a crossroads, where he had to decide whether or not to stop preaching the gospel because of fear. Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision and allayed his fears; He asked Paul to speak boldly and not stop for any reason. Dear beloved, it is possible that you have also come to a crossroads where you want to stop doing what God has assigned to you. Take encouragement from the opening scripture, and do your assigned task boldly. Don't stop for any reason and lose your reward. You might be thinking that there is no use for you because of your condition or your circumstances. I have good news for you: There is no useless person in this world; you are useful to God. God can put you to good use because there is nothing too hard for Him to do. Cheer up and make yourself available for God to use. Hallelujah! ...

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:19" Devotion : Jesus Christ assured His disciples that as long as He lived, they would live also. After Jesus Christ had ascended to heaven, His disciples suffered much persecution; some of them were even killed for the sake of the gospel. However, they are still living unto Christ because Jesus Christ has not considered them dead. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). You can live as long forever in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus, there is no limit to life on Earth. The question is, why do you need more years on Earth? If it is because you need more years to do the good work God has assigned to you, He will be glad to give you countless years to live here on Earth. He wants to see you use the life He has given you to bless lives and make life more meaningful to others. As you do that, He will give you grace to continue to live so that you can continue to be a ...

"Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Jeremiah 32:17" Devotion : It is a very good thing to know the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah had a very personal relationship with the Lord, and in his relationship with the Lord he came to learn that there is absolutely nothing too difficult for God to do. Dear beloved, how intimately do you know the Lord? The depth of your knowledge of God will determine how you will relate to Him and how intimate you will be with Him. If you know Him intimately, it will be easier to understand Him. He made the heavens and the earth with His great power and outstretched arm. Thus, there is nothing too hard for Him to do for you; He has all the solutions you need, and He has all the answers you are looking for. Develop a very personal relationship with Him through fellowship with the Holy Spirit and His Word, and you will be content in life. You will th...

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6" Devotion : Worrying has become part and parcel of man because of our fallen nature. Before man fell in the Garden of Eden, anxiety and worries were nowhere to be found in the dictionary of man. God, being so good, has given us antidotes to all our worries. These antidotes are prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. Arm yourself with prayer; it is the tool you have to commune with God to lay all your anxiety before Him. Say all your prayers earnestly and humbly, and above all, create an atmosphere of thanksgiving for yourself. Then you will soon see peace coming to you. The atmosphere of thanksgiving creates joy in your life and attracts people who are the helpers God is going to bring around you. Very soon all the help you need will be supplied, and you will have a reason to give God the glory. Hallelujah! Share your comments here...

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9" Devotion : There are times when we are so overwhelmed by our challenges that the voice of God does not mean anything to us. Joshua found himself in just such a situation when Moses died and passed on the baton of leadership to him. He mourned for Moses bitterly and felt the absence of Moses strongly. He even forgot that God was with him. Even though in verse eight God encouraged him, he still could not move forward until God came to him again and gave him all the encouragement and support that he needed. This time he was able to rely on the Word of God to lead the people of Israel to the promised land. Dear beloved, God still has faith in you. He knows you can do it, so don't look down on yourself; rely on His Word, and remember that He is with you. Therefore, be strong and courageous, do not be afrai...

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9" Devotion : Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. God expressed Himself in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because He is a Spirit and could not relate to human beings in His divine nature without becoming like one of us. If you are born again, you become the sheep of God; Jesus Christ is the good shepherd of God's sheep. He is also the door to the sheepfold, which means that we are safe and secure from anything that desires to harm us. It also means that every good thing we desire can be found in Him. Even more, Jesus Christ is the door to eternal life because He sacrificed His life for the whole world. Therefore, if you want eternal life, which is the life of the Father, you can only get it when you accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life. Do all you can to not miss the door, and when you have found it, help others also...

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Psalm 103:8" Devotion : The Lord is a Father over all His creation because He is the Creator of all things. He is a personal being; in other words, although He is a Spirit, He is a person who can relate with us on a personal level. As a person, He has personal virtues: merciful, gracious, and slow to anger. He shows plenty of mercy to His children and gives us grace to function for Him; He is slow to get angry at us when we do the wrong things or go the wrong way. These are the virtues He wants to also see in His children. As a Christian, God wants you to exhibit His virtues of mercy, grace, and being slow to anger. He wants you to be merciful toward people, slow to react in anger to what people do against you, and to give people grace to be able to work with you. When we express the virtues of God toward one another, our families, churches, communities, and nation will be better. Hallelujah! Share you...

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9" Devotion : There are so many blessings in the Bible for the children of God to partake of. The blessings, however, come with responsibilities, therefore whatever blessing you desire, make sure you also look at the responsibilities that go with it so that you can be prepared to fulfill them. The peace between God and man was breached when man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden in the persons of Adam and Eve. Thanks be to God for sending Jesus Christ to die for the sins of man in order to reconcile us back to God. Jesus Christ has committed the ministry of reconciliation to the church (2 Corinthians 5:19). When you are born again, you become a child of God, but when you do your part by extending the gospel to the ungodly, you are making peace between the ungodly and God; this makes you a true child of God. Dear beloved, are you a child of God by mere title only, or are you a child of ...

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6" Devotion : The children of God are the light of the world; hence the world looks up to them to know the ways of God. As a child of God, you are exhorted by the Word of God not to worry about anything. Why is it so important that you don't worry? The opening scripture gives you the reasons not to worry: You have tools called prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. Supplication is to ask humbly and earnestly. Therefore, don't look down on your prayers; God is waiting for you to lay your entire burden on Him in humble prayer and thanksgiving. Show appreciation to Him for what He has already done for you, what He is doing, and what He is about to do for you. Continue in thanksgiving, and your anxious mind will give way to a sound mind, which will prepare you to receive the answers to your prayers. Praise the Lord! Share your c...

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1 John 5:14" Devotion : Confidence is defined as the feeling of being certain that something will happen or that something is true. There are people who are confident in their wealth, power, position, or the people they associate with. As a child of God, where does your confidence lie? Our confidence should lie in God because of the fact that if we ask anything according to will or word, he hears us, so there is nothing to worry about or be ashamed of. We need to search the Holy Scriptures to find His will so that we can pray that His will can be done in our lives. God has the master plan for everything He has made and He is always looking forward to fulfill His plan. It is good to know the plan of God for your life and the lives of your children so that you can fulfil it to His glory; only then can you be blessed and have fulfilment in Him. Praise the Lord! Share ...

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2" Devotion : God is a personal being and relates to each of us on a personal level because He made each of us to be unique. A typical example is each person's unique fingerprint; everyone has a unique fingerprint that is different from other fingerprints. The prophet Isaiah related to God on a personal level. To him, God was his salvation, strength, and song - salvation to rescue him from his enemies and all that was opposing him in this world; strength to give him divine health to stay strong to do the work God had committed to him; and a song to celebrate the Lord in worship and praise Him for who He is and what He had done for him. Dear beloved, who is God to you? Let God also be your salvation, strength, and song. He should be the only one you can trust. Do not be afraid, and He will reward you openly. Hallelujah! W...

"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isaiah 35:4" Devotion : The heart of man is synonymous with the spirit of man, which is the true nature of the person. God communicates with people through their spirit because that is where God lives when that person becomes a child of God. If you allow any kind of fear to overtake your heart, your heart will become fearful and predisposed to be used by the enemy, called the devil. Just as the prophet Isaiah was asked to say to the fearful heart, be strong and fear not, you are also encouraged to say the same words to your heart if it becomes fearful. What you say is what you get because the Holy Spirit is in you to ensure that your words come to pass. He will avenge your enemies, so do not fear the enemies of life, such as the devil, demons, sicknesses, poverty, disappointments, disgrace, unemployment, etc. Instead ...

"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalm 91:11" Devotion : The kind of security you have determines the kind of protection you have. The security of the child of God is the most powerful and most potent of all securities in the world. Angels are spirit beings and servants of the Most High God. They are very powerful compared to human beings. When a person is born again, God dispatches angels to protect that person and to minister to him (Hebrews 1:14). The Christian is an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ and thus has access to this angelic ministry. You can command your angels to work for you. As a matter of fact, give them work to do by instructing them on daily basis so that they can bring you good tidings. You have all the help and protection you need, so do not fear but rather be aware of what you have and use them. Praise the Lord! Share your thoughts here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudybible.bible...

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100 V 4 Devotion : The Most High is God of all His creation. He supplies the needs of His creation and thus wants to be appreciated for the good work He is doing. He is overwhelmed with joy when we come before Him with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto Him. The more we appreciate Him with thanksgiving and joyful noise, the more He makes His blessings available to us. No appreciation is considered too small or too great, so let us appreciate and adore Him for even the little things He does for us. Dear beloved, the Lord is God, so His needs differ from ours. He needs thanksgiving and joyful noise, therefore let us give Him what He deserves so that He can bless us with good health, wealth, good marriages, good jobs, good ideas, etc. Hallelujah! Share your thoughts here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudybible.bible.kjv.bibleverses.bibleofflin...

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20" Devotion : Jesus Christ is the Bishop of the church (1 Peter 2:25). In other words, He is the Head of the church. He continually monitors the church and gives it all the resources it needs to do His ministry on Earth. In the opening scripture, the Laodicean church was going astray and had become neither cold nor hot. In fact, they had kept Jesus Christ out of their hearts. Our Lord Jesus Christ rebuked them and asked them to clothe their nakedness, to be zealous, and to repent. The same rebuke goes out to us today, especially those who have succeeded at kicking Jesus out of their hearts by not taking Jesus Christ and the ministry of the gospel seriously. Jesus Christ was now standing at the door of their hearts, knocking to get inside. Dear beloved, keep the fire burning so that you can continually be hot for the ...

"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14" Devotion : There are some children of God who are struggling against sin and make all manner of funny excuses over indulgence of sin. Through their struggling, they have made it difficult for themselves to overcome sin. As a child of God, it is easy to overcome sin. Those who lived under the Old Testament could not overcome sin because they were not born again and thus were under the law. No matter how hard they tried, they found themselves breaking the law. Living under the New Testament, it is now easy to overcome sin because Jesus did the work of overcoming sin for us and gave us grace to continually win over sin. Thus, when you are born again, you have the DNA of the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ in you, so sin will not have dominion over you. Now that you are a child of God, you can know your position in Christ and that you have been called to virtue and righteousnes...

"I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within _(and outside of_ _my_house)_ my house with a perfect heart. Psalm 101:2" Devotion : The psalmist made a personal commitment to the Lord. What was this personal commitment? He said he would be wise in his behavior and conduct himself in a perfect way. He also went further to say that he would work on his heart and make sure that his heart was perfect. He was doing all these so that God would find him to be a useful vessel to fellowship with. Dear beloved, make this month your month of personal commitment to the Lord. During this month and beyond, you are going to prepare your heart by ridding your heart and thoughts of all sins and wickedness. Think about the good of humanity and the welfare of your nation. When your heart and thoughts are good, your conduct will be good because what you think about is what you are compelled to do. God hates sin, and you must also hate it so that ...

"Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16" Devotion : We serve a living God who is called the LORD of peace. As a child of God, peace was deposited into your spirit the moment you became born again. The Holy Spirit, who is the glory of the Father, lives in you and has brought the peace of God with Him. Therefore, you should be able to enjoy peace daily. Apostle Paul prayed for his church to live in peace. He knew that they already had peace in them that they could cultivate and enjoy with one another. That prayer also goes to you, dear child of God, so that you can enjoy peace and share that peace, including the peace message of the gospel, with people in your sphere of influence. While you do this, your family, your community, and the nation as a whole will live in peace. Hallelujah! Share your comments here! http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudybible.bible.kjv.bibleverses.bibleoffline

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6" Devotion : God wants you to put an end to all manner of fear. He also wants you to dissociate yourself from all the elements and environments that put fear in you. If your fear is coming from hearing stories of death, stop listening to stories about death and be courageous. Do an introspection about your life, and identify whatever is causing fear in you so that you can stand against it in prayer and confession, saying, "I am not afraid of you anymore, because greater is He that is me than he that is in the world. Devil, get thee behind me." As you say this boldly in faith, the devil and the fear will depart from you; you have stood against the enemy behind your fear and have defeated him. Also know that God is always with you to back up your prayer and confession of the Word of God; this...

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9" Devotion : The opening scripture gives us a picture of God asking Joshua to pull himself together again so that he can work on what God has commanded him to do. Joshua was so overwhelmed with Moses' death that he had to be encouraged on more than one occasion to take up the leadership mantle and lead the children of God to the promised land. Dear beloved, God is not tired of you neither has He given up on you. Just as He was with Joshua, He will be with you. Joshua finally took the encouragement of God, pulled himself together, and acted on God's Word. The good news is that he was able to lead the children of God to the promised land. You can also do the same as a leader or potential leader of God's people, be it in the church or as a part of society. Have an open mind and attentive spirit to ...

"He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. Psalm 91:15" Devotion : One of the good things that the children of God enjoy when they become born again is that God is ready at all times to listen to them. This is not so if you are an unbeliever in the world, because the unbeliever is not a child of God and does not have any kind of relationship with the Father. When the child of God prays and fellowships with the Father, God answers him; if he is going through any trial or trouble, God gives him the grace to overcome that situation. In this way, God is available at all times to attend to His children; He becomes our deliverer, honors us, gives us long life, and shows us His salvation. What a wonderful God we serve! This should entice those who are not born again to become born again. Of course, they need to be informed first, and that is why the children of God should not keep the gospel to themselves but ins...

"Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; Psalm 91:9" Devotion : The New International Version translates the opening scripture as "If you say, 'The Lord is my refuge,' and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent." As a child of God, you need to be conscious of what you have and where you are. You bear the name of Jesus Christ to use to bring blessings and victories to yourself. You are in Christ Jesus, and Jesus Christ is in the Father; therefore, before the enemy can reach you, he must first go through the Father and secondly through our Lord Jesus Christ. This makes you secure in God, and He becomes a refuge and your dwelling place. Is this not wonderful? This makes you sickness free because God and Jesus Christ will protect you from diseases and all manner of evil; even if you are attacked by any illness, they will heal you and keep you in good h...

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18" Devotion : Christianity is the best way of life on this earth. It is not a religion as some believe it to be, but it is the culture and life of God in the body of the born-again child of God; it is simply God's eternal life working through the bodies of His children. Once you become a child, it is important to understand a few things. For one, you are the righteousness of God, and God is going to count on you to live His righteousness and holiness on this earth. He is also going to use you to bless the lives of others. In the midst of these, you should also understand that you will suffer for the name of Christ Jesus, which you bear. All those who hate Jesus Christ will hate you because you are now a child of God and are not of this world. You become a target for the enemy and his cohorts of darkness, and he will use people agains...

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10" Devotion : Salvation is defined as the act of saving someone from sin or evil or the state of being saved from sin or evil. It is also defined as something that saves someone or something from danger or a difficult situation. The person who saved us from our sins is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Even though Jesus Christ died for all mankind, it is not everyone who has accepted Him for this work He has done. Hence salvation can only be effectual personally by first of all believing in your heart that Jesus Christ truly died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead. Secondly, you must confess Him with your mouth as Lord over your life. If you take these two very important steps of faith, then you will be saved. It does not end here however; you must continually work out your salvation by being a follower and imitator of God (Ephesians 5:1). As you fol...

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26" Devotion : Apostle Paul was educating the Galatian church on the law and faith. He made them aware that because they have believed in Jesus Christ, they have thus become the children of God by faith and not according to the law. Dear beloved, when you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and confessed Him with your mouth as Lord over your life, you became a born-again child of God. Don't worry about what the law of the Old Testament says or how you feel; it is a step of faith you have taken. After becoming a child of God, what must you do? You must find His will and purpose for your life and live in obedience to God to fulfill His will and purpose. Jesus Christ becomes your role model to look up to when fulfilling this purpose. When you continue in the teaching of Christ Jesus, then your life will be pleasing to God, and He will bless you and make you a blessing to many generations. Hallelujah! Sha...