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  • A Broken Vessels_ Reshaped for Honour (Part 2)!

    A Broken Vessels_ Reshaped for Honour (Part 2)!
    2025/07/07
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Tuesday, July 8, 2025

    Topic: A BROKEN VESSEL (Part 2)!

    Memory Verse: "...As He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head" - Mark 14:3 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Timothy 2:20‭-‬21 NKJV

    20. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
    21. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

    INSPIRATION: Jeremiah 18:4 paints for us the picture of a vessel that got spoilt in the hands of the potter as he worked it. Quickly, he made it into another vessel. Since it was not yet set in its form but still malleable or flexible, it could still be made into another vessel. Once it was formed or set, it was difficult to remould or reshape it.

    Most broke people are set in their ways and cannot accommodate new learning. They're undiscerning, argumentative, rigid, and full of complaint. At best, they become ardvent pessimists who know the prices of everything and the value of nothing. They prefer procrastinating to taking initiative. Unlike a broke person, a broken vessel, could be likened to soft clay in the hands of a Potter that can be reshaped.

    A broken person is malleable, able to channel his pains and loses into objects of worship, converting them into instruments for his healing. He knows how to use his brokenness to ascend into God's presence and create atmospheres of many possibilities. He is discerning, teachable, and approachable. He may accept to be sustained by alms until he finds his feet, but would never take such gestures as his entitlement, the way a broke person would. He's more focused on what God makes out of his brokenness unlike the broke guy who can't see farther.

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    To be broke and stay broke narrows your chances to make the most out of life; to be broken, on the other hand, opens you up to see, take, and maximise opportunities for growth. The choice is entirely yours to stay broke or transit to being broken. Choose!

    PRAYER: O Lord, please use every of my hurting and failed past to bring me into a state of absolute brokenness so you can shape me into the vessel that brings You the utmost honour, in Jesus name, Amen.
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    5 分
  • A Broken Vessel!

    A Broken Vessel!
    2025/07/06
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Monday, July 7, 2025

    Topic: A BROKEN VESSEL!

    Memory Verse: "...As He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head" - Mark 14:3 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Timothy 2:20‭-‬21 NKJV

    20. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
    21. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

    INSPIRATION: As a continuation from our yesterday's illustration from Mark 14: 3 about being broken in the place of worship, we must establish that being broke is not same as being broken. Someone can be broke but not broken, same way someone can be broken yet not broke. To be broke, on the one hand, is to lack money to spend, while to be broken, on the other hand, is to have a sobering disposition towards God.

    Some broke people have a sense of entitlement, they make unnecessary and unreasonable demands of others as if it is their rights; broken people approach from a sense of enjoying privileges they're not entitled to. Broken people understand what mercy means; they know life could have taken them out but for mercy! Psalm 32:1-2 aptly described a broken person and called them blessed: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit."

    A broken person is conscious that the just wage for his life was judgment but mercy covered for them. These kind of people do not approach before God anyhow but genuine worship is their lifestyle. A broken person lays everything bare before God, and draws strength from Him. They're not complicated, neither are they confused about what life is about or what they're doing. Their brokenness makes them more temperate, sensitive and discerning. Truly broken people become great assets after clearing the vagueness and lack of clarity.

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    Being broke carries no glory but leaves you as a vessel of dishonour. But God wants you to be cleansed, sanctified and useful for Him, prepared for every good work. But the responsibility of purging yourself is yours to make and cannot be delegated.

    PRAYER: O Lord, please make me into that vessel that is found worthy and useful without minding how many times I've been spoilt before (Jere 18:4); cleanse me and make of me a vessel unto honour in Jesus name.
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    5 分
  • Drop Some Sticks - Brokenness in Worship!

    Drop Some Sticks - Brokenness in Worship!
    2025/07/05
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Sunday, July 6, 2025

    Topic: DROP SOME STICKS (Part 6)!

    Memory Verse: "Therefore he said, 'Pick it up for yourself.' So he reached out his hand and took it" - Kings 6:7 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Kings 6:5‭-‬6 NKJV

    5. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
    6. So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

    INSPIRATION: Mark 14: 3 tells the story of a certain woman who broke her box of Alabaster oil as a sign of her worship to Jesus. It was recorded that the cost was like a year's salary. However our focus is not on the cost but on the action. Until she broke it, the fragrance did not come out; until we're broken, our worship is not released; until we're broken, our fragrance in worship will not ascend.

    Worship is more than a song we sing, it is an action portraying our yieldedness and submission to the Lordship of Christ. If Christ is not at the centre of your worship, you've not truly worshipped. Until she dropped the box, it did break; until it broke, the fragrance wasn't released. God wants us broken (Ps. 51:17; 34:18) so we can release ourselves wholly unto Him.

    When she broke the box, she broke with it her fears, her insecurities, her addictions, her low self-esteem, her faulty paradigms, her unbelief, her unfaithfulness, her poverty, her inadequacies, tendencies and proclivities, etc; everything that casts a shadow on her true identity got broken as she broke the box. True worship stems from a broken spirit, it releases you from strongholds and stranglehold intended to keep you away from accessing God.

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    Jericho walls and prison chains still break today in the place of genuine worship. You want your fragrance released? Then offer true worship, and watch God move your mountains.

    PRAYER: O Lord, please deliver me from offering You cosmeticised worship; may my worship cost me everything but You, may it be one that flows from a broken heart that is willing to drop everything to gain You, in Jesus name, Amen.
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    4 分
  • Drop Some Sticks: Obedience (Part 5)!.mp3

    Drop Some Sticks: Obedience (Part 5)!.mp3
    2025/07/04
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Saturday, July 5, 2025

    Topic: DROP SOME STICKS (Part 5)!

    Memory Verse: "Therefore he said, 'Pick it up for yourself.' So he reached out his hand and took it" - Kings 6:7 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Kings 6:5‭-‬6 NKJV

    5. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
    6. So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

    INSPIRATION: Exodus 7:8-13 tells us a story of God's instructions to Moses and Aaron to do miracles with Aaron's rod by throwing it down before Pharaoh so it could turn into a snake. Even though Pharaoh's magicians tried to counterfeit the miracle, God still reigned supreme by ensuring their rods were swallowed up by Aaron's.

    You may never know what God might require you to cast down for your big miracle, just be sensitive and obedient: for Aaron, it was his rod; for Peter, he was to cast his net into the deep (Luke 5:1-8). As it was in Aaron's case, whatever God inspires you to cast down will swallow up anything that rises to challenge you. Any form of opposition would be drowned in the sea of your victory.

    God will raise a new strategy by your obedience to deal a bloodied nose to the enemy like He did through Aaron's rod and through Jesus's death. The enemy will be striped of his glory as God begins to act in your favour to embarrass them. Evil strategies would fail before you; your little efforts would deliver super-amazing results when you become sensitive and obedient enough to cast down your rod at God's command.

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    Obedience triggers the manifestation of miracles, and God is still in the business of using seemingly meaningless instructions to showcase His greatness. Be attentive, sensitive and obedient to His promptings.

    PRAYER: O Lord, please give me the grace to follow inspired instructions; to know when to cast my rod at Your command for great manifestations, in Jesus name.
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    5 分
  • Drop Some Sticks (Part 4)!.mp3

    Drop Some Sticks (Part 4)!.mp3
    2025/07/03
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Friday, July 4, 2025

    Topic: DROP SOME STICKS (Part 4)!

    Memory Verse: "Therefore he said, 'Pick it up for yourself.' So he reached out his hand and took it" - Kings 6:7 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Kings 6:5‭-‬6 NKJV

    5. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
    6. So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

    INSPIRATION: God's ways are not known or defined by parameters set by man. Anyone who restricts his experiences of God to a particular pattern, cheats himself. Jesus encounters a man born blind in John 9:1-7. The cause of his blindness was not of primary concern to Jesus and he refused to be drawn into such a debate.

    He healed him without following the usual routine of laying on of hands or making a decree. He simply spat on the ground, made clay and rubbed it on the eyes with specific instruction to go wash at the pool of Saloam to receive his sight. Few things are worthy of note here: firstly, bad situations are occasions to manifest the works of God. This must be our priority too.

    Secondly, time is of the essence; we do not have the luxury of all the time to make impact. Do not postpone divine moments. Thirdly, beam your light to your the world like Jesus did. Fourthly, God still uses foolish things to birth testimonies; He used spittle to recover a man's sight. Fifthly, obedience is key to the miraculous - the man obeyed. Lastly, Jesus dropped His spittle to get him healed. Are there things you're willing to drop to see the glory of God?

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    God's ways are not in methods. He can use any medium and can bypass any means if that best suits His purposes. Regardless of our leaning, let's learn to rely more on His inspired instructions at all times.

    PRAYER: O Lord, please give me the grace to follow inspired instructions; may pride not rob me from the benefits of such obedience, in Jesus name.
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    4 分
  • Drop Some Sticks, Be Salt (Part 3)!

    Drop Some Sticks, Be Salt (Part 3)!
    2025/07/02
    INSPIRE Devotionals
    With Emmanuel Afiawari

    Thursday, July 3, 2025

    Topic:* DROP SOME STICKS (Part 3)!

    Memory Verse: "Therefore he said, 'Pick it up for yourself.' So he reached out his hand and took it" - Kings 6:7 NKJV

    Bible Text: 2 Kings 6:5‭-‬6 NKJV

    5. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
    6. So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

    INSPIRATION: The book of 2 Kings 2:19-22 presents another bad event turned good by the leading of God's Spirit upon Elisha. The ground was barren, and the only source of water in town was bad too. Whilst the people complained to Elisha, he didn't join in their despair. Believers must know how to act differently at all times and not join the reactionary bandwagon. He took salt and dropped it at the source of the river, and spoke to the situation.

    Not only did the salt turn the taste of the water, it also healed the ground. Was it not just salt, you ask? Jesus points us to our real identity when He said, “You are the salt of the earth..." (Matt. 5:13). By implication, you're to add taste, heal bad situations and preserve the future. You're empowered to speak peace and add grace to unfavourable conditions and see to its change. When Elisha dropped salt, things changed.

    Do you still retain your properties as 'Salt'? Can we add you to flavour a bad situation until it becomes sweet again? Elisha went to the source of the water, puts salt into it and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness'" (2 Kgs 2:21). What can you learn from this? How would you address ugly situations that confront you going forward?

    TODAY'S TAKE HOME:

    Any problem you do not address from its source like Elisha did never gets resolved permanently. Don't play cosmetics with your destiny. Enhance your features as salt and let it reflect in all your undertakings henceforth.

    PRAYER: O Lord, please order my steps to walk in the consciousness of my true identity as salt until I become a symbol of healing and preserving grace to my world, in Jesus name.
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    5 分