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, ...