ojaysjoel blog

John 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Devotion: Jesus was called to heal Lazarus, but he came late even as he knew that Lazarus was gravely ill. Jesus when he finally arrived demanded that the stone be rolled away and he called forth on Lazarus to come out. (John 11:43) You may be thinking oh, since all these days and prayers Jesus did not answer your prayers. Your faith like Mary and Martha’s is shaken (John 11:32;39) but he says roll away the stone vs 39. The stone is your unbelieving heart, open it, have faith and do away with the bad, odorous sin. Martha said by this time “he stinks”.   Jesus lifted up his eyes unto God, He did not look at the smelly grave (He takes away his eyes from your sin) that is favour. This morning I don’t know what your going through and how long, but I know Jesus is always on Time call on him and he will relieve you of yo...

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 KJV Devotion: Apostle James was teaching morals to the people all over the world including you and me. He discussed why people ask and did not receive vs 2-3 because they ask amiss. He also made us to understand that love of the world (vs 4) is enimity with God because we cannot serve two masters.  James thought us not to be proud but to submit ourselves to God and let God direct us. We should not speak evil of another person neither should we judge because judgement is of the Lord. We must not grumble when faced with law of God rather we must obey the law and do right always.    We must acknowledge God always and know that God rules in the affairs of men, therefore we must not boast of what we will do tomorrow. We should only say if God wills I will do this or travel to some place.   Having thought us all these James made us to understand that there is no denial. We do not have ...

even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  Matthew 20:28 KJV Devotion: To understand the statement of Jesus above we have to understand what led to it. The two sons of Zebedee (James and John) came to Jesus accompanied by their mother to seek favour. She wanted Jesus to give them priority in His(Jesus') kingdom. One to sit on Jesus'left hand and the other one on the right.  This is human reasoning, it is not to be expected of servants of God. Many ministers of God today are preoccupied with what Car, House and other perks of office than heavenly matters, than welfare of the congregants.   Jesus had to explain to her that the rules in heaven is different from here on earth and nobody gets anything by human favour. Only God decides who occupies what position. Even Jesus did not come so that He will be served but to serve others.   Friends out there are you expecting people to tumble over heads t...

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 KJV Devotion: The passage above was written by David when there was trouble, when he was in the valley of life but David trusted God and he was saved.  Dear beloved, I don't know what you're going through presently but I want you to know that without valley there's no peak. The Lord God who took David out of the valley will take care of your situation, He will bring you to the top and you will have testimony in Jesus name.   Do not fear, do not be skeptical just believe and stand firm in faith. You will see the glory of God in the Land of the living. God says I am with you, I will not leave you nor forsake you (Isaiah 41:10-14). The situation will terminate in great testimony in Jesus name.  Dear reader, share your testimony with us. I remain your friend Dr Joel Olanrewaju visit my page at ojaysjoel.blogspot.com fo...

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17 KJV Devotion: A preacher lamented that his church started same time as another one was not growing. The congregants remained nearly the same for over a decade. Whilst the other has become a cathedral. The cause was there but he did not notice it. When he peaches he CONDEMNS the sinner, he tells them they will go to hell fire. Nobody wants to go to hell fire so the people went elsewhere, where they are welcomed with open hands and assigned to a person who teaches them the word of God without condemnation. The sinner is told the consequences of non repentance but it is after the joy, reward for repentance had been properly explained to them. The new convert is visited, assisted when necessary and made to belong to household of God. In the other church nobody speaks to the sinner, he/she is ostracized from the church and made to feel guilty.  Dear friend, Jesus did no...

"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. John 10:29" Devotion : Any Christian who comes across this scripture should be happy indeed because Jesus Christ said whoever He has given eternal life will not perish neither will any man snatch them from His hand.   What a relief! He also made it clear that his sheep ,( disciples, born again Christian) hear his voice and follow him. Every Christian should fellowship with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit so that he/she can hear the voice of Christ Jesus.  If the Word of God dwells in you richly it is easy to hear the voice of Christ because he speaks nothing but his Word. This is the reason you must read the Bible aka word of God daily.  Dear beloved, do you hear the voice of Jesus Christ? Share your testimony with us. Hallelujah. From KJV offline bible daily devotional.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV) Devotion: Living in ignorance of your duty is a recipe for failure. Ignorance is the worst state for any child of God to find themselves in (Hosea 4:6). It can rob you of knowing your divine purpose and fulfilling it.    Dear beloved, everything you do under the sun will be brought to judgment in the end. Your whole duty on earth is to fear God and obey His commandments. Fearing Him is to give Him priority in your life, hate evil, and live in righteousness. Simply put - fearing God is obedience, reverence.    Beloved, when you live your life to please God, you will have nothing to fear or worry about (Proverbs 28:1). There shall surely be challenges because nothing comes cheap. (John 16:33) But if you are ab...

Please try to watch this and be blessed  https://youtu.be/SP0wYgOZv7g

Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 KJV Devotion: There is a saying that goes thus "show me your friend and I will tell who you are". If a child grew up among monkeys he will behave like a monkey and these applies to you and me. The type of friends we keep will determine how far we go in Christianity. If our friends are lazy in the things of God we copy them, if they don't attend Bible class we will skip Bible class etc.  While we must not ignore the weak christian, we must relate with Christian, disciples who will spur us to grow in the spirit, in knowledge of the word of God. We must be sharp also to assist others to grow otherwise people will ignore us as weak, not sharp enough. It is a two way action - you assist me I assist you we both develop in Christ.  Therefore this morning I encourage you dear reader to walk among fellow Christians, no room for relaxation. Please share your testimony with us. Hallelujah!  I am ...

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4 KJV Devotion: When you accept Christ as Lord and Saviour God starts living inside of you. We know that God is greater than any other power, He reigns supreme in the affairs of men especially those who give Him their lives.  Therefore when afflictions arise you need not be afraid because He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. In 2 Kings 6 the host of Syrians laid seige against the children of God at night. When Elisha's servant saw the warriors he was sore afraid but the prophet told him in 2 Kings 6:16 "And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them". The outcome was victory for the children of God.  Therefore do not be afraid stand firm in faith and call on God and you will overcome the afflictions.    Dear reader, share your testimony with us on this. Hallelujah. I am you...

For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:13‭-‬14 KJV Devotion: The projected world population as at 1st of January 2023, was  7,942,645,086, perhaps it is 8 billion now. These humongous number of people alive, let's try not to remember the billions already dead, was created by no other person than God. You know what? You're one of these living persons and you're not just one but NO OTHER like you either among the dead or the living. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, none like you just none like our God.   You're unique and God knows you in and out, knows your coming and going, what you did, doing and what you will do. He orders your footsteps. God's work is just marvelous to say it that way. There's no word to describe Him and His work.  What then should you and I do in appreciation of ...

beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7 KJV Devotion: Love is such a difficult word to define, why? because the way many people interpret love is different from one and others. God's definition of love is different from human definition of it.  When we take the Bible passage above into consideration then we can say love is foolish or blind according to what people say on the street. How can you bear all things and believe all things. Humanly speaking it is not possible but when you think of agape love it is possible.    In relationships we have sensual love, which may be blind or foolish initially because what was called love was infatuation. It will vaporise especially after marriage, then love will become wise and stop to bear all things, endure all things and to Hope for all things. That is why a man will have concubine to bear children if the wife cannot conceive after few years of marriage(Genesis 16:4;15)....

Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7 KJV Devotion: We are in computer age and maybe something smarter is on the way. So everyone of us feel smart and are proud to display our smartness in relationships with colleagues, business partners or clients. Most often this smartness is an act of cheating or exploiting others, which strictly speaking is not right with God. A friend said I was not street smart some years back and I agreed with him. Why, because I was not doing and still don't do the things that make them rich or celebrated but I rather do the right thing and wait on the Lord. Do you know what, I always succeed because God guides me.   Dear friend, when they tell you that you're not smart just smile and continue in the way of the Lord. Their smartness is foolishness in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.)  Le...

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13 KJV Devotion: When we were children and in trouble we called on either of our parents depending on who was nearer to us. Growing up we were taught to call on Jesus in spiritual matters and to God's glory i still do.   But there are some people who call on some other gods or deities beside God of heaven. A story was told of a pastor who called on god of thunder (Sango) when he was about to be knocked down by a moving vehicle. The incident showed what the 'pastor' believed in because out of the abundance of the heart his mouth spoke.(Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh).  You dear reader who do you call when trouble comes? Share your thoughts with us. As for me and my house we call on the name of Jesu...

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 KJV Devotion: Somehow we still live in this broken world of inequality, world of political, religious and tribal turmoil. A place where some kill for the fun of it, a place where in the midst of plenty many suffer hunger.   As children of God we live in the same space with all others and many a time suffer like the unbeliever. While the unbeliever has no hope, you and I have hope because we are the children of God of all grace not just few but all grace. No matter what you are going through at this moment just know that it is time bound. God of all grace will move on your behalf and remove the pain. He will make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you on a firm foundation.  Dear reader, are you going through some difficulty right now, talk to Jesus about it. He is your advocate befo...

  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. Ezekiel 25:15-16. Devotion : I part watched a movie late this evening. In one of the scenes a lady was shot from the back and hospitalized. She needed a huge sum of money for surgery. The three sisters had no money and were thinking of how to raise it when a friend showed up. They kidnapped the boyfriend of their injured sister to reveal the shooter because the incident happened in his presence.  The shooter who belonged to drug cartel was kidnapped held hostage while the drug cartel was raided by the ladies successfully. The ladies got lots of money and killed one of the cartel members. One of the ladies declined to participate in the plot saying "our ...

"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 according to the opening scripture: heavenly peace and worldly peace. Though the disciples had worldly peace their hearts were troubled and afraid. We cannot say that the present generation have worldly peace when we think of wars in several regions of the world. We also here of armed robbery, bandits killing several people daily and kidnapping.  Yet he who has Christ as Lord and Saviour have peace, the peace which overcomes trouble and fear. (John 26:33)  Every Christian has been given this heavenly peace by Christ Jesus to rule over every obstacle (sin) that may prevent us from making heaven. Believe it, keep proclaiming it and live it; the spirit of fear will depart from you. Share your thoughts with us. God bless you. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kjvstudyb...

rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 1 Corinthians 13:6 KJV. Devotion: The word charity according to Marriam-Webster dictionary means - benevolent   goodwill   toward  or  love  of  humanity. This can be translated broadly to mean agape love. It is not the sensual love. Therefore its attributes are different from infatuation which most young or selfish persons describe as love.      Charity rejoices in truthfulness, does and lives right always. It cannot be found wanting, it is selfless and ready to lay down its life for others (Jesus Christ). This is what Jesus did and He is the epitome of love.  The question this morning is do you easily commit sinful acts and pass it off as politics or business. Do you tell lies and see nothing wrong in it? Have you been running around with different women or persons of questionable character and you see nothing wrong in so doing? Dear reader charity does not get involved in these ra...

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 KJV Devotion: In Psalm 46, David praised God and expressed confidence in God of his salvation. David said "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea";  When God is acknowledged and praised He(God) is always happy and willing to do more. In fact God does more than expected when we praise and worship Him. That is why further down in Psalm 46 God spoke, He said "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth". Why will God be exalted among the heathen, in the earth? God will be exalted because He will do wonderful things, save a people, heal homes, heal nations etc.   Today is the day of the Lord, try to praise and worship God in songs and conduct and you shall be...

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2 KJV Devotion: Planet earth is a very beautiful place to live in and humanly speaking to enjoy and be fulfilled. Each normal person when growing up has aims and aspiration to achieve in life. We had targets to achieve when we were in secondary school; some of us met our targets early some later and some others did not and will never.  But life on earth is a journey to eternity; to some it is very short - few minutes or hours, to some few years and to many others many years but all must depart from here to his or her eternity. Eternity is a permanent position, a home, a resting place or a place of torment. Whichever is achieved is continuous, meaning continuous rest or torment. Going to such place deserves the best of preparation and the best choice must be made early because nobody knows when he/she will arrive there. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:19 to "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth...

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things  are honest, whatsoever  things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Philippians 4:8" Devotion : Destiny has to do with your future; it is the power that controls what happens, but you can change your future by what you think. Thoughts are so powerful that they have the ability to change what you do on a daily basis, which has a bearing on your future.  If you want your future to be great, think on the following: truth, honesty, justice, purity, love, and good report. When you think on these things, you will develop good virtues for your life. These virtues are also praiseworthy, which will influence the decisions and choices you make. Your good decisions and wonderful choices will lead you to a better future and hence a fulfilling destiny.  Dear beloved,...

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10 KJV Devotion: In Nigeria as in many other countries corruption is pervasive and many people often talk about it. Most of the time people in leadership positions are blamed and nobody blames himself or herself. My argument always is that corruption starts from the homes, when the parents lie to the children, some children lie or steal and are protected by the parents. It can be explained by this story. The school fees prescribed by goverment is ₦2000, the school demands ₦2500 and the child tells the mother that he/she was asked to pay ₦2700. When the father arrives the mother demands ₦3000. In this chain someone has added to the actual fees to be paid. None of the people is truthful in the small matter. When such persons become leaders they cannot be truthful because they are not truthful in small matters   The only solution to this is to gi...

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30 KJV Devotion: The things of this world are ephemeral and all will definitely fade away. In our neighbourhoods we will notice elderly once handsome and beautiful people but now the skin is wrinkled, the spine bent etc. They are probably walking aided. All of us if given the grace will get to that stage.   It will now depend on what we did with the grace we had, how we used it will determine our reward. If you had grace to be in high office and you failed to groom somebody one day you'll be there like a stranger and nobody will attend to you. If you are a beautiful young woman today do not misuse your body because it will tell on your health at old age.  But if you fear God, you will obey his commands. You will assist others whilst you can and will not misuse your body; and you will have joy and reward here and hereinafter. God will praise you, men will praise yo...

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 KJV  Devotion: Following the foiled assassination attempt on the king, Haman, a chief advisor to the king, periodically went outside the palace gates and demanded that the king’s servants bow to him. But Mordecai refused to bow to Haman (do you bow to devil for a pot of porridge?). This infuriated Haman, and after he discovered Mordecai was a Jew, he conceived a plot to exterminate the Jews.   When Mordecai heard of this, he asked Esther to plead with the king on their behalf. However, Esther reminded Mordecai that whoever went to the king uninvited would face the penalty of death unless he extended his golden scepter. Mordecai urged Esther to visit the king anyway, as Esther 4:13-16 relates:   De...

that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 1 Corinthians 12:25‭-‬27 KJV Devotion: In the body of Christ in Nigeria one can safely say there's schism with some form of disagreement between the pentecostal and orthodoxy and both not in agreement with white garment denomination. It ought not be so if we are all serving God in truth and faith. But when personal interest comes in there is discord.  Within same denomination it is not uncommon to see younger clergy rebelling against the senior clergy; no wonder when name of criminals are mentioned Christian names are there. There is need to return to basics, to know that each denomination is just a part of the whole. Each is dependent on the other parts of the body of Christ. The trunk cannot move...

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 KJV Devotion: Now Jesus adds the reason the Father will do what we, disciples of Jesus ask. The key is not our personal power or merit, but because when two or three of us gather in the name of Jesus, Jesus is there with us. This is a promise for the days to come after Jesus returns to heaven the Holy Spirit is present among us. It also explains why God the Father will grant these requests made by the disciples. It is because Jesus is omnipresent—existing in all places—and therefore with us.   This must have been comforting to Jesus' disciples including you and me as we think about carrying out these heavy responsibilities (Matthew 28:19) He gives us. What a weight of responsibility to preach the good news of Christ all over the world, as well, to make the right choices about what to request from the Father.   Dearly beloved do not fear, do not go alone have a child of ...

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 KJV Devotion: Each time I read this verse I am confident that nothing can stop me from doing that which I purposed to do according to the will of God. I had gone through hard times like very low patronage of my business. I was sacked twice while carrying out legitimate duty, yet I was not deterred and will not be deterred from fogging on.   I don't know what you are going through right now, I counsel you to have it at the back of your mind that nobody can stand against you. No matter the negative prophecy, observation of teacher or relatives and friends just believe in God and His ability to see you through. I urge you to continue in what you are doing provided it is acceptable to God, He will see you through.    The story of Joshua is apt, God promised to be with him in the final conquest of Canaan land (Joshua 1:5). He was not defeated except in Ai and we know that reason. Akan ...

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17" Devotion : The Holy Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. God started a dispensation in the Old Testament where He gave laws to the Israelites through Moses. These included laws about everything concerning the family, relationships, work, worship, sacrifices, marriage, etc.    Even though the laws were good, the Israelites could not obey them all of them at all times; they found themselves disobeying the laws because they were not born again. God, in His own wisdom, created another dispensation in the New Testament through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Here grace and truth have been given by Jesus Christ. You become a beneficiary of grace and truth when you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; you then become born again, and the Spirit of God comes to live in you. This makes it easier for you to be an obedient child of God because the Spirit guides you into all truth. ...

being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6 KJV Devotion: A natural man is a sinner and does what he decides from his own heart. We all are naturally sinners because we inherited sin from Adam and Eve.(Romans 3:23) We begin to grow in it till death of some or until we make conscious effort to get out of sinful life.  Let us remember that we can make effort to get out of sin but our effort is not enough because our self righteousness is like a filthy rag before God. Only God Himsel through grace (Romans 3:24)can make us righteous when we surrender to God.( Matt 5:17) Whenever we surrender to God through Christ His son we become a new being.(2Cor5:17) From that moment on God starts a good work in us to make us perfect till Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6) This is when we continue to abide in Christ and he in us(John15:4), we must not backslide.  Dearly beloved what is your take on ...

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.– 1 Peter 5:8-9  Devotion: Let’s not underestimate the fact that we live in a world filled with spiritual battles. There is an enemy who is looking for our weak spots—the places of inconsistency in our lives—that he can exploit for our hurt. This is why the apostle Peter tells us to stand firm in our faith, for our walk with God has to be spiritual, based upon His promises, not physical nor on our abilities.    We all have weaknesses, which we must guard against by being close to God in prayers and studying his words daily. We must ask for and be filled with the Holy Spirit or else we derail and become easy prey for devil. May we never derail in Jesus name. Further we must focus our minds and hearts on what God ha...