ojaysjoel blog

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 KJV Devotion: The bible defines Faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (HEB.11:1). A practical example of faith is this - A farmer prepares the ground ready and buy seeds to plant when the rain falls, though he does not have weather forecast. He has faith that rains will fall soon and truly the rain falls.   As a young doctor I made a diagnosis of perforated Duodenal Ulcer. I wanted to refer the old man to a bigger hospital but the patient declined. He said "my son I trust you, please perform the surgery on me and I will survive". This is a surgery I had never witnessed before but I summoned courage and the surgery successfully. The man went home in good health. When I asked why he wanted me to do the surgery he said "I have faith in you because I hear...

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17 KJV Devotion: In the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, particularly chapter 3 Paul admonished the young christian population on living for Christ. Some of us are young Christians though we maybe born into Christianity but were we living right for Christ?     We have to realize that we are Jesus' disciples we have a duty to represent him well. We are the living ambassador of Christ, everything we do or say we do in Jesus name. He is the only one who has account with God and we can only go to God through him ( John 14: 13-14). You cannot just go to the president of your country without going through his personal secretary or assistant. Jesus is the Lord over all who believes (Philippians 2:11; Acts 10:36).   Again we must not claim anything done by God through us, we must recognize that God only used us. Some 'Christian leaders' claim...

The good news shows God’s power to make people right with himself. God’s power to be made right with him is given to the person who has faith. It happens by faith from beginning to end. It is written, “The one who is right with God will live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) Romans 1:17 NIRV Devotion: I decided to ask this question because there's need to be explicit on it. A natural man lives by sight ie seeing is believing and that is scientific. Science does recognize or believe any occurrence that cannot be replicated using same method elsewhere.    We also know that many things happen to or around us that defies human reasoning or cannot be explained. An example is a woman well into menopause and who did not visit doctors for treatment yet after a prayer concieves and gives birth to a normal baby. In a totalled car accident the passenger was saved without an injury.   A believer lives by Faith which the bible says "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of ...

Love, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 1 Corinthians 13:6 KJV Devotion: The amplified bible translates the verse above thus.... "It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail". 1 Corinthians 13:6 AMPC.    Real or truthful love does not tolerate sin or evil act, it will condemn sin unequivocally. Love is made happy where righteousness prevail. But unfortunately it is not so in the society again, people tend to celebrate people of questionable character, persons whose source of wealth is not known are the ones praised in the society. The reason is not far fetched - love of money.   A family prefers to give their daughter in marriage to the highest bidder without asking how such an one made his money. But we children of God must not join the worldly standard, we must maintain God's standard. We must abhor evil and love righteousness.  In your place of work or home don't cover up evil because y...

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27" Devotion : There are two kinds of peace: the worldly kind of peace and the Jesus Christ kind of peace.  The worldly kind of peace does not solve the troubled heart of a child of God. This is so because the child of God has been born into a different family, that is, the family of heaven, and worldly peace cannot appease heaven. Another reason is that worldly peace is limited, temporary and outward but they a heavenly peace/Jesus kind of peace is limitless and works from within before showing on the outside. Worldly peace can be taken by the devil who gave it in the first instance. It is the only solution to overcome fear, which fights us from the external forces of darkness while worldly peace is born out of fear.  An example of worldly peace is the "juju" man uses his voodoo to solve a problem for you but...

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 KJV Devotion: In this world as humans whatever happens to human beings can happen to children of God, why? We live in the same space with sinners. Earthquakes, storm, fire incidents, traffic or air accident will not discriminate between the good and the bad. You can have certificate and not get job especially when you rely on God and don't know somebody who knows somebody. This is common in our area of the world. No job means financial difficulty, but if you are steadfast in prayers God will make a way. Other afflictions that affect humans like cancer, serious illness or barrenness can affect your but be consoled that you are not alone in it, Jesus is right beside you to see you through.   We are consoled by the fact that we have Jesus Christ our Saviour and Deliverer, otherwise we will be doomed like the unbeliever. But Jesus says in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto ...

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16" Devotion : The opening scripture above is dealing with corporate prayer, which can be applied to prayer in general. Failure to forgive hinders corporate prayer; no wonder Apostle James said we should be bold enough to tell one another where we or they are going wrong so that corporate prayer can be a time of feasting and refreshing because answers are received and miracles, signs, and wonders are pronounced.  As a child of God, you should not keep offence inside you as it will pollute your spirit. Go to the offender quickly and show him/her his/her fault quickly and politely before it begins to harm you. The enemy would want you to keep offence inside you so that he can rely on it to destroy your conscience and spiritual growth in prayer. Don't allow him; put him to shame and enjoy prayer any time you pray alone, ...

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah 54:10 KJV Devotion: Our God is a merciful God unlike some other gods which are not merciful. One other attribute of God is that once He promises to do something He will do it. This, God emphasized in the passage above and we know he's not a liar or joker that will make a promise and not fulfill it.   The question is who can access this promise? Actually the promise apply to all children of God ie those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour and have confessed and departed from their sinful past. Exodus 20:6.  Are you ready to receive God's Mercy? Then come to Jesus if you have not, retrace your footsteps back to Jesus if you had backslide. God is at the door waiting for you.   Dearly beloved, God is merciful to you, do you do same to your neighbour or you'll rather igno...

Psalms 145:1-2  I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Devotion: There's time for everything, time to sing new songs and praise God is here and should be a regular occurrence because God delights in our praises and thanksgiving.    The situation was not always rosy for David yet he had the habit of praise and thanksgiving and it was counted for him positively. No matter your station in life make it a habit to praise God because praise and thanksgiving turns bad situations to best situations.   Dearly beloved as you wake up this morning choose a song of praise you like most and sing it loud even from your heart and by God's grace testimony awaits you. Please share your testimony with us later. Hallelujah!    For more devotionals please visit https://ojaysjoel.blogspot.com/2022/10/title-praise-and-thanksgiving.html?m=1#more

Psalms 100:4   Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Devotion: It is a good thing to praise God and He welcomes our praise. Praise and worship are the only things good demands from us. He does not need our money or any material gift.  This morning I praise God, the giver of life who gives me life to see this beautiful day, a day that marks the beginning of yet another year in my life. Looking back over the past few years I know a lot of river flowed under the bridge, is it failed business, health issues, financial problems or loss of job. The list is just too much but God in His mercy restored all my loses and it is wonderful and I am very happy today, psalm 126. What shall I say unto the Lord? All I will say is thank you Lord, thank you Lord and thank you Lord.  Dearly beloved, only one thing you can do for me today is praise God with me. Your days of joy come soonest we will rejoice togeth...

Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: Romans 15:5 KJV Devotion: In a successful human relationship one very important factor is like mindedness without which there may be strife or disunity. If a family is living in harmony, without strife then both husband and wife are like minded.   We can extrapolate to a bigger society eg the church of God. If the congregants equally or nearly equally understand the words of God and live by it they will be in one accord. If they are like minded they will do great exploits for God because once a decision is made to go out and preach everyone will joyfully go.   This is what is lacking in the body of Christ in many societies including our homes, therefore the church is not evangelizing. The reason is not farfetched, it is commercialization of religion.    How I wish we all return to basics and teach the undiluted word of God and win souls for Chris...

"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 people in this world who just have the habit of delaying or showing a lackadaisical attitude in everything. It should never be your attitude or said of you as a child of God. The Almighty GOD had to stress this on more than one occasion to encourage Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land.  As a child of God, be sensitive to the voice of God. Jesus Christ said my sheep hear my voice and they follow me, John 10:27-28. Open your spirit up through constant study of God's Word, prayer in the Holy Ghost, prayer in your understanding, and exercising the Holy Scriptures; when you are doing these things on a regular basis, God will definitely start speaking to your spirit.    When God speaks, He buttresses it with the Holy Scriptures as confirmation of His voice. Go ahead and...

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 ESV Devotion: There's a Yoruba saying that says "the father disciplines the child he loves" ie if the father loves you he will correct you with the rod as well as verbal correction. To the child at that time it may seem like hatred. A friend told me recently how a young man he met at the mall settled a bill for him. The man was a former student whose life changed positively by the teacher's chastisement. He had graduated and became successful.    You, children of God may feel bitter now when things seemingly go wrong but know that it may be God's way of saying come back to me.  Dearly beloved, how did you feel going through valley? Tell us your experience, how you handled the situation.  By Joel Olanrewaju.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24 ESV Devotion: The passage above speaks the truth about the fate of every human. When Jesus says the world verily twice know that what follows is very important. It cannot be changed or there's no other way but to carry out the instruction passed.   It's very simple, believe the words of Jesus about himself and God who sent him and Live! Failure to believe leads to eternal damnation, there's no other way to it. Dear reader, do you want to live? Believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God who came and gave His life so that you may live. Follow up by confession of your sins and solemn vow not to go back to sin again. Praise God, your are saved.  Do you have any other views of this? Please share with us. Hallelujah!  By Joel Olanrewaju.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 KJV Devotion: There are two types of fear, negative fear eg fear of death, accident or losing a loved one while positive fear is fear of God, your parents because you love them, they love you in return so you don't want to hurt them.   As a child I feared my dad so much I did my best to please him most of the time and his love and care for me was much. Whenever he sent me on errand I swiftly did, now that is wisdom because there's always a reward for obedient child.  In the passage above Solomon wrote "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" He is correct in that when you fear God you live a life of obedience and in return God rewards you with His peace that surpasses human understanding. John 14:27a. Now that is knowledge, a fool is disobedient and suffers the consequences both here and hereinafter.   Dear reader, won't you rather fear God...

Luke 11:33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. Devotion: In the afternoon today I attended an outing and the place was filled up with men, women, young and old flamboyantly dressed. Most came in big expensive and luxurious SUV. Each tried to outshine the other. What I try to say is that each person blew his trumpet. I did in my own way, my head was lifted up. I read the story of a christian lumberjack. When asked how he coped working with his colleagues he said they don't even know that he was a Christian. He hid his lamp under the bushel so that nobody saw his light. In the situation he cannot carry out the commandment of Christ according to Matt 28 vs 19 that says "go ye ....   Christian tend to be less flamboyant, yes it is good talking of things of the world. But when we are talking spiritual we must let the world know where we stand and wh...

Ephesians 2:5 & 8 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Devotion: In this life you have to earn your pay, no free launch as they say. You have to pay for everything including your life; in some places you have to pay terror groups to save your life. Kidnappers take ransom of huge sum of money to release victims.    Man fell into sin in the garden of Eden and human race have been trying to go back to God by different methods. Unfortunately many think they can buy their way by spending huge sum of money on religion to please God. They go through prophets, sacrifice animal to cleanse their sin, scapegoat Lev 16: 21-22 etc.  You and I know better, that we can only be saved through grace of God. We cannot earn our salvation because Jesus paid for it with His blood shed on Mount Calvary. All we need to ...

Job 14:7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.  Devotion: I listened to above verse explained and I want to share it with you. When a tree is cut the roots remain in the soil, and when the rains come it will sprout. Job 14:9. In the evening the sun goes down but it must rise in the morning. I don't know what is happening in your life now, maybe you are in the valley, crushed or you just lost your job or loved one. You may have done good to some people but they decided to pay you with evil. You carried them on your shoulders and now that you cannot walk, they refused to give you ordinary walking stick, don't think of it because you will surely rise. Their counsel will come to naught just like Ahithophel's counsel and they will be disgraced,  just like Ahitophel committed suicide so will they perish. 2 Samuel 17:23.  The stump will sprout surely as the sun will shine, nobody can stop yo...

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16 KJV Devotion: Who is a righteous man? A righteous man is a person who has given his life to Christ, a born again Christian who lives a life of total obedience. He is under the control of the Holy Spirit.  Such an one is very scarce to come by these days but we can still find them. Apostle James advices you and me to be one of such person and to pray one for the other. I used to lead a fellowship of young persons years back. We were right for Christ and we prayed for one another with positive results. The members always come to give testimony of answered prayers.   Dearly beloved, can you organize such in your office or neighbourhood? God will surely answer your prayers if all members are righteous. You will have testimonies in Jesus name. Hallelujah!   By Joel Olanrewaju.

What shall I render unto the Lord.  Ps. 116:12. Devotion: Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:22  that "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not". I totally agree with him, sleeping and waking up daily is because of God's Mercy. I travel daily on bad road and I'm saved because of God's Mercy. Therefore I have yet another reason to give thanks to God.  Dearly beloved, I'm sure you also have many more reason to give thanks unto God. Please feel free to share your testimony with us.  By Joel Olanrewaju.  Sing along with us. Hymn 074 - For mercies, countless as the sands 1 f    For mercies, countless as the sands,    Which daily I receive    From Jesus, my Redeemer's hands,    My soul, what canst thou give?  2. p    Alas, from such a heart as mine,    What can I bring Him forth?    My best is stain'd and dyed with sin    My all i...

There are many reasons to give thanks to God, many of which is listed in the song below. Sing along with me. Hallelujah. Feel free to share other reasons and songs with us.   By Joel Olanrewaju. 7.7.7.7. Let us with a gladsome mind .... 1 mf Let us with a gladsome mind Praise the Lord, for He is kind; For His mercies still endure, Ever faithful, ever sure 2 He, with all-commanding might, Filled the new-made world with light; For His mercies still endure, Ever faithful, ever sure 3. All things living he doth feed, His full hand supplies their need: For His mercies still endure, Ever faithful, ever sure 4 cr He His chosen race did bless In the wasteful wilderness: For His mercies still endure, Ever faithful, ever sure 5 f Let us then with gladsome mind Praise the Lord, for He is kind: For His mercies still endure, Ever faithful, ever sure Amen. Shared From : CAC Mobile.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1 ESV Devotion: We often give thanks to God when things goes right for us. You just gain promotion or pass an exam or a woman waiting on the Lord got lab results that shows she has conceived. Then it's joyful time to sing praises.   But what happens when the situation is the other way round? Sad? Depressed? No praises to Almighty God? I heard this testimony from a colleague who sat an exam severally and was told he failed again. He refused to be distressed and dressed up for Sunday service, got to the church danced and sang like never before. Lo and behold before the week ran out he got his result from the college and it was a pass. Till date none knew what happened but he passed and completed the program successfully.    I don't know what you're going through now but I urge you to sing songs of praise, I did when I lost my job and here I'm now I got another job from a person w...

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 3:13 (KJV)   Devotion: When you stop growing, you start dying. The Almighty God made us to continually grow to maturity and attain the stature of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:13-16). As a child of God, you have to make up your mind to grow continually in spirit, soul, and body so that you can achieve a lot for God. Learn from Apostle Paul in order to not be complacent over your current height or achievement. There is more to do in the Kingdom of God; there are also new things to learn from God every day.   Beloved, just take the Holy Scriptures and meditate on them and you will discover that God has something good for you every day (Psalm 1:2–3). As long as you are still on this earth, make your life exciting by setting new goals and outdoing your past. Grow, develop new skills, do greater works f...

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 2 John 1:6 ESV Devotion: The word Love, has a multidimensional meaning. In the passage above the elder makes us understand that love means obedience; I totally agree with him because when you love someone you try to do everything to please the person. John 15:10.   God loves us and gave us Jesus who gave a commandment - to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbours like ourselves.  To obey/walk in this commandment, is to reciprocate this love of God, Matthew 22:37-40.   The question this morning is are you, am I, walking in the love of God? I'm I doing the will of God? Let us re-examine ourselves once again and return if we have deviated. If we are on track keep staying on the track. Remember to ask the Holy Spirit to assist you.   Dear reader, do you have concerns on t...

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 ESV Devotion: The above passage is one of the teachings of Christ given to the disciples before sending them out. He admonished them to live righteously.  The message is simple and strait forward. I will try to analyze it : 1) let your light shine before others - this means you must have a bright light. What is this bright light? It is your life as a disciple of Christ, you have to live a blameless life, radiate Christ in speech, dress, in your work either self employed or as employee. The people around must see or listen to you and know that you're a child of God.   2) so that they may see your good works- it means you must not be two faced person. A two faced person is one who behaves differently in different places. As disciple in the church or at home, but lives a diametrically opposite life outside the view of the church me...

"Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. John 20:27" Devotion : The Bible has everything within it to make us a success in life. God has written the life story of His children and other personalities for our learning, so that we might not repeat the mistakes of our patriarchs/predecessors.   The experiences of our patriarchs put us ahead in life: Apostle Thomas is an example of the patriarchs in the New Testament. He believed in the physical senses more than the spiritual senses before Jesus Christ met him after His resurrection.  After meeting Jesus Christ, his sphere of belief was turned around for good. Let us learn from the mistake of Apostle Thomas and put to work our spiritual senses: our spiritual senses rest on the heart and the mind. The heart and the mind are spiritual senses used to dominate the physical senses of sight, taste, smell, hearing, ...

Lord, who is a God like you? You forgive sin. You forgive your people when they do what is wrong. You don’t stay angry forever. Instead, you take delight in showing your faithful love to them. Micah 7:18 NIRV https://bible.com/bible/110/mic.7.18.NIRV Devotion: We have a God like no other, He easily forgives Sin and He is not Angry with us once we confess and beg for forgiveness. God's steadfast love for us also remains because love is God's nature.   The gods of this world is unforgiving and delight in exarting vengeance on sinner (the ones who is offend them). In the gods of this world there's no love, they are full of hate, evil and offence.    Dearly beloved, God invites you this morning to come, He is ready to forgive your sins and restore you unto Himself, 2 Chronicles 7:14. God's hand is not short that he will not be able to deliver you.  Prophet Isaiah 59:1 said "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that i...

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. John 4:18" Devotion : The opening scripture has given us a standard of rule to measure true love. This must be taken seriously in order to identify true love on the one hand and false love on the other. True love/perfect love cast out fear, doubt, and anxiety.   Therefore, any time you want to demonstrate love and you feel fear, doubt, and anxiety, please don't exercise love because your heart is telling you that there is something fishy about the subject of your love, that is, the one to whom you want to demonstrate/show love. The subject/person may either be taking advantage of you or looking for your destruction.  The enemy also reads the Bible and seeks to rob us of our blessing by using his children against us. On the other hand, if you are about to show love to someone and you have no fear, doubt, and anxiety, go ahead and demonstrate...

There is none holy as the LORD: For there is none beside thee: Neither is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2 KJV Devotion: The above passage will become a song in your mouth soon, when God performs Miracle in you. The first miracle is your Salvation and redemption. God will wipe away all your sins and give you a new life.  Then as you follow Christ and live a life of continuous total obedience, God will give you His Holy Spirit. This is the second miracle.   If you have taken the first two steps above the third miracle which says that all the things the worldly run after will be added to you without sweat is certain. Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".   Dearly beloved, do you want to sing a New Song? The choice is yours and I urge you to take the necessary steps today for tomorrow might be too late, 2 Cor 6:2. Your miracle is on the way. Please share your thoughts with us. H...

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24 ESV Devotion: In Nigeria, we are still at the level of building individual Houses for our families, some privileged build mansions in many cities for their uses some start with one room and add rooms until satisfied. The rich chose prime areas with people of equal status. The poor build anywhere cheap land is available.  That's about physical houses that can be destroyed by elements eg fire, storm, earthquake and government can acquire the land. If you do not follow government building specification, get approval or build in the wrong place government will demolish the house.  If earthly government can demolish your house, have you thought of what heavenly government can do to your House? If you build your heavenly house in wrong place or based on wrong foundation of Sin; it will be demolished or you will live in it in Hell Fire.   Dearly b...

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV Devotion: Praise God it is the dawn of a new month. We have survived 9 and by God's grace we will survive the remaining months of the year.  I want you to look back at how you lived your life in the past 9 months. What were your thoughts first of your life, your family and towards your neighbours? Were your thoughts in consonance with the passage above? If your response is yes, congratulations and please keep it up, it is not you but the Holy Spirit in you that thinks right. So continue to live right and make sure it - Holy Spirit will not depart from you. If your answer is the other was round you probably need to move nearer to God in His words, prayers and fellowship with disciples of Jesus. You need to allow Holy Spirit live and ...