Tag Archives: ILMA’s Poem Devotional

DANIEL TELLS NEBUCHADNEZAR HIS DREAM Poem Devotional

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December 7
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DANIEL TELLS NEBUCHADNEZAR HIS DREAM
A poem by ILMA
Daniel talked to Arioch and told him, “Don’t kill the wise men
Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream”
Arioch quickly brought Daniel to the king and told him about Daniel
This captive from Judah will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”
The king asked him “Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”
Daniel replied, “There is no one else who can tell you your dream and its meaning
There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets who will show you your dream
Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
“In your vision, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man
The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver,
Its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and clay
The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold
Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor
The rock that knocked the statue down became a mountain that covered the earth.
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MEMORY VERSE
“There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. – Daniel 2:27-28
Read: Daniel 2:24-35
In this chapter, Daniel asked Arioch, the one who was assigned to kill the wise men and the magicians who couldn’t identify the King’s dream to spare them their lives for he will tell the King himself his dream and interpret it as well. He made it clear to the king that no one could ever know his dream except his God, for he knows everything.

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REFLECTION
• How do you think the king responded to Daniel revealing his dream?
• Why do you think Daniel was choses by God to interpret dreams?

SIMPLE FOODS ADD VIBRANCE AND WISDOM Poem Devotional

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December 5
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SIMPLE FOODS ADD VIBRANCE AND WISDOM
A poem by ILMA
Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the King’s food and wine
He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods
God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel
But he said, “I am afraid it is the King’s order for you to eat these meals
If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age,
Then I will be the one responsible and the king will have me beheaded.”
Daniel spoke with the attendant appointed by the chief of staff
He was assigned to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water, then see what happens
See how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food
Then make your decision in light of what you see,” so the attendant agreed
At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier than all.
When the training period ordered by the king was over, they were all brought in
The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as these young men Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and judgment
They found them ten times more capable than any of all magicians and enchanters.
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MEMORY VERSE
At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others. – Daniel 1:15-16
Read: Daniel 1:8-20
The vegan diet goes as far back as Daniel’s time. It proved that the simple vegetable and water diet didn’t compromised their decisiveness and knowledge. As compared to what others ate, they came out much wiser and had good judgment.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think that a vegan diet can change your health and mind?

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December 4
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PERFECT LOVE EXPELS ALL FEAR
A poem by ILMA
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another as God commands
Love comes from God and anyone who loves is God’s child and knows him
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into this world.
Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other
No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us
His love is brought to full expression in us when we operate in love
God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them
They live in God and we know how much God loves us and have to trust him
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect and we won’t fear the day
Then we can face him with confidence since we live like Jesus here in this world.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear
If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows we haven’t truly loved
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar
For if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we can’t see?
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MEMORY VERSE
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
– 1 John 4:18
Read: 1 John 4:7-20
Many of us do not realize the real meaning of how to live in perfect love. Even though we know that God is love, we are not able to live fearless lives. When we live in fear, we are not letting his Spirit live in us. When we are fearful, we fail to love. They can’t operate together.
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REFLECTION
• What deceives us from thinking that we can stay fearful and claim that we love?

LOVE IN ACTION Poem Devotional

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December 3
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LOVE IN ACTION
A poem by ILMA
If we love our brothers and sisters, it proves we have life
But a person who has no love for anyone has no life and is dead
Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart
And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us
So, we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters
If someone has no concern for those in who are in need
They have no compassion so, how can God’s love be in them?
Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let’s show truth by our actions
Our actions will demonstrate that we belong to the truth and have confidence
Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything
We will receive from God whatever we ask because we obeyed and followed him.
This is God’s command: “We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ”
He also wants us to love one another and whoever obeys will remain in him
So, seek to please the Lord and have fellowship with him so you can have life
When you do this, the Holy Spirit will dwell in you and you will stay in his light.
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MEMORY VERSE
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So, we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters – 1 John 3:16
Read: 1 John 3:11-24
The world has bombarded humans with a wrong notion of love. We live in a world that caters to self-seeking pleasures. There are few true lovers who would sacrificially give up their lives for others.
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REFLECTION
• What does “giving up” your life for others really means?
• Why did John say that someone who has no love in them is a dead person?
• Why is love not just a feeling but an action word? How can we grow acting it out?

THOSE WHO BELONG TO GOD Poem DEvotional

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December 2
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THOSE WHO BELONG TO GOD
A poem by ILMA
See how very much our Father loves us; he calls us his children
Those who belong to this world don’t recognize us; they don’t know the Father
But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
All who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to God’s commands
Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him
Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin
But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know who God is.
When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous,
But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil
The Son of God came to destroy the works of the enemy
We will only have victory if we believe in the one who can really save us.
Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning
God’s life is in them that is why they cannot continue to do wrong
So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil
Anyone who do evil and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
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MEMORY VERSE
So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
– 1 John 3:10
Read: 1 John 3:1-10
How can we tell the difference between those who are God’s people and those who don’t belong to him? This chapter in the book of 1 John tells us that we can know the difference between them when they do not choose to stay in sin. Making a habit of sinning is a sign that they belong to the devil.
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REFLECTION
• What gives God’s people the courage to avoid sinning?
• How is not loving other believers a sign that they are children of the devil?

OBEDIENCE: SIGN THAT WE KNOW GOD Poem Devotional

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November 30
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OBEDIENCE: SIGN THAT WE KNOW GOD
A poem by ILMA
I am writing this to you so that you will not sin, but you have a Helper
We have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father
He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous
He himself is the sacrifice that atones for the sins of the whole world.
We can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t follow what he says
That person is a liar and is not living in the truth
Those who obey God truly show how completely they love him.
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did
We are commanded to love one another as has been told to us before
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer
That person is still in the dark and has been blinded by the darkness.
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MEMORY VERSE
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. – 1 John 2:4-5
Read: 1 John 2:1-11
There is a big discrepancy between saying we know God and claiming we are believers and yet fail to obey God’s commands. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot actually walk in truth and obedience. It is only the Spirit of the Lord that can convict us when we do wrong and show us a way out, or we get stuck in the sin. Those who say that they know God and yet don’t put into action the truth, they are only lying to themselves and are still living in darkness and does not live in the light.
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REFLECTION
• Why is obedience to God’s commands one of the hardest things to do in this world?
• Why is action an important part of being a Christian?
• What happens when we don’t do what we hear in the word of God?
• Why are we lying when we claim we are Christians and hate a fellow believer?

LIVE IN THE LIGHT Poem Devotional

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November 29
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LIVE IN THE LIGHT
A poem by ILMA
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning
We ourselves have heard and seen Him with our own eyes
We touched him with our own hands; He is the Word of life
This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him.
Now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life
He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard
This way you may have fellowship with us, with the Father and with the Son.
We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you
We are lying if we say we have fellowship with God
When we live in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship others
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
If we claim we haven’t sinned, we call God a liar shows no place for him in our hearts.
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MEMORY VERSE
So, we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. – 1 John 1:6
Read: 1 John 1
Many believers have no idea how to live in the light. In this verse, John explains to us how to practically apply this concept in our lives. In verse 6, it is shown by how we relate to God and how we have fellowship with the body of Christ as well.
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REFLECTION
• How can we live in the light when we are isolating ourselves from God and others?
• Why is light and darkness not compatible?
• What happens when we continue to live in the dark and yet we say we believe?

CAUTION TO THE RICH Poem Devotional

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November 28
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CAUTION TO THE RICH
A poem by ILMA
Listen carefully, all you who are rich: weep with anguish for what’s coming at you
There will be terrible troubles and suffering ahead of all those who are rich and famous
Your wealth will not last long, they will rot away and your clothes are like rags
Your gold and silver are corroded and that wealth will eat away your flesh like fire.
Those of you who are hoarders will face the day of judgment
Hoarding is clinging on to material possessions which you can’t bring anyway
You are born in this world without anything but naked
You will also return to the place you belong in the same way.
Hear the cries of those whom you have cheated so you can gain more
You have spent your years here on earth in luxury and convenience
You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter
You have fully satisfied yourselves instead of looking after other.
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MEMORY VERSE
Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you – James 5:1
Read: James 5:1-6
This letter of James gives a very harsh warning to the rich people. Like the man in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, we see how greedy that man was storing up so much riches for himself instead of gaining riches in heaven. He had no idea that one day, all these things he stored up for himself will be gone for he doesn’t know when his life will be taken away from him.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think the rich are cautioned vehemently here by James?
• Do you think that all rich people are not going to enter God’s kingdom?
• How can you be wealthy and yet enter the kingdom of God?
• Why is it very hard for the rich to really be true disciples? What stops them from being a true follower of God?

ON JUDGING AND SELF-CONFIDENCE Poem Devotional

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November 27
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ON JUDGING AND SELF-CONFIDENCE
A poem by ILMA
Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters
If you criticize and judge others, you are judging God’s law
Your duty is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you
God alone has the power to save or to destroy; you can’t judge your neighbors?
When you plan on doing things today or tomorrow, don’t be so certain
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow; you don’t know the future
Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone
Instead, say “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Don’t be over-confident and talk of being certain about the uncertainties of life
You are boasting about your own pretentious plans and that is pride
All such boasting is evil and it is sin, rely only on the truth and God’s will
When you know what you ought to do and then not do it, it is sin.
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MEMORY VERSE
Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you– James 4:11
Read: James 4:11-17
Human nature tends to always look at the wrong things or the negative side of others. Only by God’s grace can we see others as beautiful creatures made my God himself. We are cautioned by James to refrain from judging others because it is God’s law you criticize when you do that. He also reminds us not to rely on ourselves and plan without consulting God for that is pride. The only thing we should boast is that God has given us so much grace and mercy.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think God prohibits us from judging others?
• Why do we need to rely on God at all times? How does pride develops when we constantly are independent

VALLEY OF DRY BONES Poem Devotional

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November 25
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VALLEY OF DRY BONES
A poem by ILMA
He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor
They were scattered all across the ground and were completely dried out
Then he asked me, “Can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones
So, I said, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD!
The LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again
I will put flesh and muscles and cover you with skin and breathe life into you.
Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley
The bones of each body attached themselves as complete skeletons
Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones
Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the wind”
The Lord says “Come, I breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.”
So, I spoke the message as I was told and breath came into their bodies
They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
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MEMORY VERSE
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! – Ezekiel 37:5
Read: Ezekiel
This prophecy of the Valley of the Dry Bones was spoken to the Israelites by the Lord God himself through the prophet Ezekiel. It is a great promise of God to his own people to restore them from their spiritually dead state into full life again.
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REFLECTION
• How can believers hold on to the hope of the promise of God that he can restore even dry bones are have been dead for many years?
• How can we focus on God’s power to resurrect dead and dry bones into life again?