INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Monday, September 1, 2025

Topic: THE TRANSITION!

Memory Verse: "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" - Ephesians 1:11 NIV

Bible Text: Luke 22:31‭-‬32 KJV

31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

INSPIRATION: Before the advent of digital camera, films for photos had to be passed through and developed in a "Dark Room." The name suggests an unpleasant place but when films are run through it, beautiful pictures emerge! Many of us may be in dark places right now and wondering what the future holds. God would have me say to you, "You're coming out bigger, better and stronger. You'll pick up some vital lessons but He'll pull you through and out of it with a strong hand and you'll have a beautiful ending.

Jesus told Peter, "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:" That is, to take him through a rough patch. Every once in a while, you may encounter difficulties, but Jesus said further, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." He allowed you go through that hell to prepare and equip you to guide others when their wilderness experience begins. He knows you can take it, hence he let you go through it so you can strengthen others when theirs begin. Think about how God plans ahead using the enemy's evil.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

God can use anything to work out the counsel of His will. Whilst the experience may be unpalatable to us, the overall outcome would ultimately reveal God's loving plans that disarms the enemy. Seek that plan always, even in your pains.

PRAYER: O Lord, I thank You for praying for me that my faith doesn't fail when it matters most. Thank You for turning my dark experiences into beautiful pictures and empowering me to be greatly successful in spite of all my setbacks, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Topic: LOOKING UNTO JESUS (Part 4)!

Memory Verse: "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed" - Psalms 34:5 NKJV

Bible Text: Hebrews 12:2 KJV

2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

INSPIRATION: How many of you, like me, experimented with a magnifying lense and paper under the hot sun to see if it would burn? To make it burn with flames requires you to focus the rays of the sun on a spot on the paper for much longer. As kids, those who couldn't stay focused did not experience the burning flames on their paper. In similar vein, when your focus on Jesus is not well directed, you won't get the results it ought to produce. It won't ignite the 'flames' needed to initiate your expected miraculous outcome.

You'll never understand the importance and power of focus until you gain spiritual clarity that you could miss something or something could go wrong when you're not alert to its need. “That’s a hard one!” said Elijah to Elisha. “But if you’re watching when I’m taken from you, you’ll get what you’ve asked for. But only if you’re watching" (2 Kings 2:10 MSG). The operating word is 'watching.' To look unto to Jesus is to watch with a focused gaze. If Elisha missed it, he misses everything. Same way you miss everything when your eyes go off the Master. Peter lost focus, he began to sink (Matt. 14: 30).

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

Stay focused on Jesus. Keep your eyes, heart and spirit intently watching Him. Do no waver or you may miss an Impartation that's crucial to your purpose in life.

PRAYER: O Lord, I'm determined to stay focused on you until I trigger a miracle. I'm rooted in my conviction that there's no way else but You, so I choose to cast my everything on You and never to look back, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Saturday, August 30, 2025

Topic: LOOKING UNTO JESUS (Part 3)!

Memory Verse: "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed" - Psalms 34:5 NKJV

Bible Text: Hebrews 12:2 KJV

2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

INSPIRATION: Paul counsels, "So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective" (Col. 3:1‭-‬2 MSG).

To look unto Jesus is to feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities and possibikities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm (TPT). Where truly is our affection? When young couples first fall in love, they're always gazing at each other or talking about their partner to the admiration of others. How do you look unto Jesus? Do you see the vast treasures of the heavenly realm and allow them fill your thoughts? Do you see some realities you could possibly attain if you realign your vision and perspectives to His?

This is the crucial point of the matter - the after effect of your gaze is what God is after, but we often preoccupy ourselves with our physical realities at the expense of what He wants us to see through Him. Paul argues, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18 NIV). There can never be a better way to experience than looking unto Jesus.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

God's intent when He says to look unto Jesus is for you to see Him as your source for everything, and to make you to feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Meditate on this truth today.

PRAYER: O Lord, I receive grace to look unto you with my full attention and affection. I feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill my thoughts with heavenly realities. I disallow the distractions of the natural realm, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Friday, August 29, 2025

Topic: LOOKING UNTO JESUS (Part 2)!

Memory Verse: "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed" - Psalms 34:5 NKJV

Bible Text: Hebrews 12:2 KJV

2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

INSPIRATION: Scriptures was careful to mention that as they looked up to him, their faces became radiant and there was no shame or confusion traced to them. When you gaze intently on Jesus, His glory rubs off on you and makes you to radiate same. In fact, Scriptures say you become transformed into the image you see (2 Cor. 3:18).

This doesn't seem logical but no one makes meaning to spiritual principles with their senses. The more you look to Jesus, the more He's magnified in the face of your reality. An intently focused gaze on Jesus pulls you to your altar of true worship. True worshippers according to John 4:23-24 are few today. Unfortunately, herein lies God's agenda in asking you to focus on Jesus.

If your gaze doesn't inspire worship, you would have missed a great opportunity to get into the heart of God and make Him dwell in your worship (Ps. 22:3). The key to making Him dwell in your praise lies in how you focus. Don't forget too that His presence makes mountains melt like wax (Ps. 97:5) and skip like rams (Ps. 114: 4,6).

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

What is your focus daily? Does it feature Jesus prominently? If your focus is put on a scale, what would it read? How many percent of it would reflect looking unto Jesus?

PRAYER: O Lord, I receive grace to put my attention and affection solely on you. I make it an act of true worship. My heart will trust in You in the good and bad times, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Topic: LOOKING UNTO JESUS.

Memory Verse: "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed" - Psalms 34:5 NKJV

Bible Text: Hebrews 12:2 KJV

2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

INSPIRATION: Looking unto Jesus isn't as simple as just taking a casual gaze. It is a conscious and deliberate exercise that makes Him the centre of your thoughts. It is an act of absolute worship that magnifies Him above all else. Looking unto Jesus takes away the attention from ourselves or our problems. Many of us are too self-centred and problem-centred. This tends diminish God's sovereignty when our focus is on everything else other than Jesus.

When you look unto Jesus, you're making Him the centerpiece of your affection, and you shift the weight of your burdens on Him. When you look unto Jesus, radiance beautifies your countenance and shame leaves no traces on you. Looking unto Jesus fills you with glistening glory that eliminates all forms of shame or confusion. It literally crowns Jesus Lord over you and whatever may have assailed you. Herein His peace reigns and makes your life's storms pale into insignificance.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

Jesus is honoured when we focus all our attention on Him than when we put all the attention on ourselves and our challenges. The latter tends to remove God from our equation and brings frustration.

PRAYER: O Lord, I repent for every time I had occupied myself with self-consuming thoughts and became self-conceited and problem-laden. I receive grace to turn the tide and fix my focus on you always, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Topic: UNSHAKEN CONFIDENCE (Part 2)!

Memory Verse: "But none of these things move me; ..." - Acts 20:24A NKJV

Bible Text: Romans 8:35 NLT

35. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

INSPIRATION: It is often said that trust is earned and not demanded. God has not only earned our trust, He demands that we trust Him. Trusting Him doesn't make Him any more "God" than He already is, it however profits whoever decides to so do. For Job to have declared, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him" (Job 13:15 KJV), there must be something he knew about trusting God that should challenge our faith too. Being slain, yet trusting is not a tea party. 

The three Hebrew boys told the king, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods..." (Daniel 3:16-18 KJV).

This level of confident audacity must be sponsored by something deeper than mere head knowledge. They must have encountered God in dimensions that killed their fear. Such confidence comes from deeply intimate fellowship that is lacking in today's believers.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

If anything still moves you to the point of affecting your love for God, just know that you're farther away from knowing what it means to confidently trust God. It has a price!

PRAYER: O Lord, I receive grace to boldly declare my stand of trusting you like Job and the Hebrew boys did. I affirm nothing moves me, nothing separates me from totally depending on you, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Topic: UNSHAKEN CONFIDENCE!

Memory Verse: "But none of these things move me; ..." - Acts 20:24A NKJV

Bible Text: Romans 8:35 NLT

17. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

INSPIRATION: Sometimes, life delivers troubles to us in truckloads that tend to shake us like reed shaken by a fast moving heavy current of water. The purpose of the troubles is to grip your heart with fear and derail your focus away from God and your purpose. It is to strip you of every covering and defense so you can struck. Troubles are targeted to disarm you and make you an easy prey. It magnifies a problem and often diminishes your confidence in God and in yourself!

Yet, in the midst of many troubles, Paul says, "But none of these things move me" (Acts 20:24). When your heart fully trusts in God, you would confidently make same declarations. When you fully understand His love holds you in an inseparable bond, you can beat your chest and say, "my life is hid in Christ in God" (Colo. 3:3). So, whether it be trouble or calamity, or persecution, or hunger, or destitution, or danger, or death threat, none of these things should move the believer whose heart fully trusts God.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

Make a firm resolve today that no matter the amount of trouble thrown at you, you'll safely trust in the Lord, and not be moved.

PRAYER: O Lord, I receive grace to fully trust You, to remain unmoved by the hard knocks life deals me. I stand confidently in my trust in You always, knowing that You can use anything to accomplish Your goals in my life, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Monday, August 25, 2025

Topic: TAKE THE FLAG DOWN (Part 3)!

Memory Verse: "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure ..." - Joshua 1:8 NLT

Bible Text: Luke 15:17‭-‬18 NLT

17. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
18. I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

INSPIRATION: Scriptures was careful to record that the Prodigal Son finally came to his senses. Nobody arrives at this spot without access to the right information. The right information revealed as 'Truth' sets one free (John 8:32). When Daniel discovered the 'Truth' about their captivity in Babylon (Dan. 9:2), he took informed decisions that set his life and others in an opposite direction. Truth brings you to your senses; it pulls the scales off our eyes and turns you into a radical revolutionary.

Truth helps you arise and take back your joy. Take back your peace, take back your health, take back your finances, take back your family, take back your marriage, take back your mind. Oh yes! Your mind is key to this radical and revolutionary change. Liberate your mind, renew and refine your thought patterns. You're not just telling the devil you've changed your mind, you're taking steps to prove your convictions. It's time to go back to the point of intersection where you mortgaged your destiny and take it back. Yes! It's time to pull the flags down!

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

Make no further excuses. Make that switch right now and walk back into your God-ordained purpose. Take back your destiny and pull down the flags and power that set you on a collision course.

PRAYER: O Lord, I receive grace to discover and access relevant information that empowers me to make radical and positive changes to the course of my life. I'm empowered to take back my destiny and walk back into divine purposes, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Sunday, August 24, 2025

Topic: TAKE THE FLAG DOWN (Part 2)!

Memory Verse: "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure ..." - Joshua 1:8 NLT

Bible Text: Luke 15:17‭-‬18 NLT

17. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
18. I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

INSPIRATION: A bad decision may give you a temporary high but could leave you with permanent bruces, burns and scars. A poorly made choice can crumble your life's investments and derail you. A rich kid soon began to feed on pig's food. What an absurdity! But I'm glad the story didn't end here. Scriptures said, he finally came to his senses and acted differently. When we come to the place of realisation, the will to make informed decisions come upon us.

At this point, a switch in government that controls his mind, choices and actions was made and the flag of Satan's authority had to go down. He literally impeached every negative thought that had subjected him to such a debased life. He pulled down the devil's flags (2 Cor. 10:4-5). There're flags of negativity, insecurity, low self-esteem, timidity and fear that must be pulled down, if you must make your mark.

Are there areas in your life you want to tell the devil to back off? Are there areas you ceded control to the devil that you want to take back? The first thing is to come to your senses then, say what you need to be and do to change yout status (Luke 15: 17). You can tell the devil you've changed your mind; that you're going back home (symbolic of where you find the right expressions for your graces). You don't wanna be estranged from your purposes any longer. You can change your mind!

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

It doesn't matter how far you've travelled on the wrong lane, once realisation dawns on you, your best action is to make a U-turn back to the right path. Do that now!

PRAYER: O Lord, I issue an eviction notice on the devil and the powers of negativity that had held me captive. I take down every flag of authority that is after my destiny. I change my mind and disallow forces from controlling my choices and decisions, in Jesus name.

INSPIRE Devotionals
With Emmanuel Afiawari

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Topic: TAKE THE FLAG DOWN.

Memory Verse: "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure ..." - Joshua 1:8 NLT

Bible Text: Luke 15:17‭-‬18 NLT

17. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
18. I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

INSPIRATION: The story of the Prodigal Son leaves us with many moral lessons to shape our choices. In the coming days, we shall take a look at some of these lesson under the broad them, 'TAKE THE FLAG DOWN.' For the avoidance of doubt, a flag, as used in this context, is symbolic of the governmental authority that controls your territory.

When a people are subdued and conquered during war time, the conquering nation erects its flag at the sit of power of the conquered nation to show a new government is in control. When the Prodigal Son asked for his share of inheritance, he wasn't trying to get rich. He already was a rich kid. He only wanted control. But control without discipline will frustrate you! Rather than gain control, he gave it out cheaply.

Control without mastery will lead you astray. In this case, he went into a far country and wasted his resources in wanton recklessness. Do not think it is only money you lose when you stray into territories you're not trained and suited for. He wasted his substance - purpose, anointing, graces, survival instinct, etc, at the spur of a bad decision. Many destinies have been derailed due to back choices.

TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

A bad decision is like earthquake; its ripple effect far outweighs any gains and leaves more persons destined to benefit from affected by our wrong choices.

PRAYER: O Lord, I take down every flag of authority that is not from You that is after my destiny. I refuse to give control of my graces to a wasteful venture, in Jesus name.