August 22
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CALL TO ORDERLY WORSHIP
A poem by ILMA
When you meet together to worship, some will sing or teach
Others will say some revelation from God or speak in tongues
One might interpret what’s said but it must strengthen all of you
No more than two or three should speak in tongues and speak one at a time Someone must interpret what they say but if no one interprets, be silent.
Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said
But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from God
In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other
Remember that people who prophesy are in the Spirit’s control to take turns
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of the church.
Do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians?
Are you the only ones to whom it was given?
If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.
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MEMORY VERSE
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.
– 1 Corinthians 14:33
Read: 1 Corinthians 14:26-39
In this chapter, Paul talks about the order when we come to worship. He stresses here how the Lord is a God of order and not of chaos. Though we have many different gifts, the gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy was emphasized here and Paul tells the Corinthians that these two gifts are very important in the body of Christ. He clearly gives detailed instructions as to how it must be orderly done in the church. Where there is disorder, the Lord is not in that situation or place.
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REFLECTION
• Have you ever spoken in tongues or prophesied in your church?
• Why is it important to have order in worshiping the Lord?
Tag Archives: spoken word
GIFTS OF TONGUES AND PROPHECY Poem Devotional
August 21
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GIFTS OF TONGUES AND PROPHECY
A poem by ILMA
Let love be your highest goal also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives
Desire specially the ability to prophesy because it benefits the entire church
For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God People won’t understand you for you’ll be speaking by the Spirit’s power.
One who prophesies strengthens, encourages, and comforts others
A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally
But one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church
For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues.
Unless someone interprets what you are saying when you speak in tongues,
Only you and the Spirit understand, the whole church won’t be strengthened
If someone speaks in an unknown language, how would that help you?
But a revelation, special knowledge, prophecy or teaching, will be helpful.
Even lifeless instruments must play the notes clearly for melody to be recognized
It’s the same for you; if you speak to people in words that they don’t understand
How will they know what you are saying?
You might as well be talking into empty space.
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MEMORY VERSE
I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. – 1 Corinthians 14:5
Read: 1 Corinthians 14:1-9
God’s Spirit gives us many different gifts, among them are the gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy. Paul urges the Corinthians in this chapter to allow these gifts in the church. He stresses the importance of prophesying for it benefits and strengthens the church.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think prophesying is better than speaking in tongues?
• Do you speak in tongues in public? Why do you think some people don’t exercise this gift of the Holy Spirit?
WITHOUT LOVE, NOTHING MATTERS Poem Devotional
August 20
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WITHOUT LOVE, NOTHING MATTERS
A poem by ILMA
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others,
It would be pointless like I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal
If I had the gift of prophecy, and knew all God’s plan and had great faith
It would mean nothing if I didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body
I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing
Love is patient and kind; love isn’t jealous or boastful or proud or rude
It doesn’t demand; it’s not irritable, and keeps no list of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures all things
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge is useless
But love will last forever! It is the secret for lasting relationships.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child
But when I grew up, I put away childish things; Now we see things imperfectly, Like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we’ll see everything clearly
Three things last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest is love.
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MEMORY VERSE
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:2
Read: 1 Corinthians 13
This chapter is popularly known as the Love Chapter. This was the reading for my wedding and yet it was something that a lot of people do not really comprehend fully what it means. Until after ten years of marriage, I still often times forget to apply the most important ingredient in any relationships, which is love.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think love covers all and mean everything in relationships?
ONE BODY WITH MANY PARTS Poem Devotional
August 19
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ONE BODY WITH MANY PARTS
A poem by ILMA
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body
So it is with the body of Christ; some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles
Some are slaves, and some are free; but we’ve all been baptized into one body
by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit though it has different parts.
If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,”
That does not make it any less a part of the body but contributes to the whole
And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,”
Would it diminish its role make it any less a part of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants
How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.
Some parts of the body that seem weakest are actually the most necessary
The parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care
God placed the body so we care more for those parts that have less dignity
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
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MEMORY VERSE
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27
Read: Corinthians 12:12-27
This illustration of the body of Christ in this message of Paul to the Corinthians is a good reminder how all those who committed to Christ is part of one big church, which is the body of Christ. Some Christians isolate themselves from the other parts of the body when in fact, we are all members of this one body and we all need to live in harmony and not comparing each one of us from the rest. We all have a role to play.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it important to know role and purpose you are made to function in his body?
• Why should we not isolate ourselves from the other parts of the body?
HOLY SPIRIT DECIDES WHAT GIFTS TO GIVE Poem Devotional
August 17
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HOLY SPIRIT DECIDES WHAT GIFTS TO GIVE
A poem by ILMA
Brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities
You know that when you were still pagans, you were astray worshiping idols
I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus
And no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it comes from the same Spirit
There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord
God works in different ways, but it’s the same God who works in us all
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice
To another, the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge
The same Spirit gives great faith to another and to another, healing gifts
He gives someone power to perform miracles and another the ability to prophesy.
He gives someone else the ability to discern God’s spirit or another kind
Some are given ability to speak in tongues while another interprets
It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts
He alone decides which gift each one of us must have.
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MEMORY VERSE
It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. – 1 Corinthians 12:12
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:1-12
There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit to believers, but no one can choose which one to have because only God’s Spirit decides on that. Sadly, some Christians think that they could work at a gift. It is freely given to us.
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REFLECTION
• Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Have you been using it for God’s glory?
• Why do you think it is hard for some believers to recognize such gifts from God’s Holy Spirit?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LORD’S SUPPER Poem Devotional
August 17
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LORD’S SUPPER
A poem by ILMA
I heard that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church
When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper
For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with other
As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.
Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking?
Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor?
On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread
He gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said
“This is my body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant between God and his people
Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”
For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
You are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again
Examine yourself before partaking of the body and blood
Or you’ll have God’s judgement upon yourself.
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MEMORY VERSE
That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. – 1 Corinthians 11:28-29
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Paul instructs us the order of the Lord’s Supper. It is important for us to be able to examine ourselves before partaking of the body and blood of Christ or we will be judged by God himself.
REFLECTION
• Why is important for us to check our hearts before we remember partaking of the blood and body of Christ?
• Do you take communion seriously and examine yourself before you do?
HEADSHIP AND AUTHORITY Poem Devotional
August 16
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HEADSHIP AND AUTHORITY
A poem by ILMA
The head of every man is Christ, the woman’s head is man, Christ’s head is God
A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying
A woman disrespects her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering
if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair.
Since it is shameful for a woman to have her her head shaved,
she should wear a covering and a man should not wear anything on his head
For man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory
While woman on the other hand, reflects man’s glory.
The first man didn’t come from woman but the first woman came from man
Man wasn’t made for woman, but woman was made for the man
A woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority
This only shows that she is coming under authority and honoring her head.
Among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men,
Likewise, men are not independent or autonomous of women
For although Eve, the very first woman came from man
Each man was born from a woman and everything comes from God.
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MEMORY VERSE
But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. – 1 Corinthians 11:11
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:1-12
In this instruction of Paul for worship for men and women, we get a glimpse of the reason why the law required women to have covering in their head in public worship. It symbolizes her honoring the authority the man has over her. Sadly, a lot of women and men fail to understand the reasons behind such rules in public worship.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think submitting and respecting authority is something that is really important to God?
• Why should a believer not practice “independence” from their spouses?
PAUL GIVES UP RIGHTS FOR THE GOSPEL Poem Devotional
August 15
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PAUL GIVES UP RIGHTS FOR THE GOSPEL
A poem by ILMA
Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle?
Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes?
Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord?
Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you.
You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle
This is my answer to those who question my authority
Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?
Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?
What soldier has to pay his own expenses?
What farmer plants and doesn’t have the right to eat from his fruits?
What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and not allowed to drink their milk?
Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same?
“You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.”
Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he speaking to us?
Yes, it was written for us, so that the both who worked gets a share of the harvest
Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to its fruits?
But we have never used this right; We won’t let any obstacle to bring the gospel.
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MEMORY VERSE
But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:12
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:1-12
The world dictates that we fight for our rights. In this account of Paul to the Corinthians, he turns around this worldly system of fighting for one’s rights. He tells us that even thought he deserves to have the right to take part of the harvest from his work, he wouldn’t let this become an obstacle to bringing the Good News.
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REFLECTION
• What rights have you given up so that the Gospel will be preached?
THE TROUBLE IN MARRIAGE Poem Devotional
August 14
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THE TROUBLE IN MARRIAGE
A poem by ILMA
If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage
If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married
But if you do get married, you will definitely have troubles
I am trying to spare you those problems so you can focus on Christ.
Those who weep or rejoice should not be consumed with lament or their bliss
Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them
For this world as we know it will soon pass away; be free from life’s concerns
The single can serve God undividedly while those married has to serve their spouse.
Married man’s interests are divided while the single one can focus on God
In the same way, a woman who is single can be devoted to the Lord
A married woman has to think about her duties and pleasing her husband
Do whatever will help you serve the Lord with as few distractions as possible.
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; she’s free if he dies
She can marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord
But it would be better for her to stay single so she can stay focused
She can serve the Lord without having to divide her attention.
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MEMORY VERSE
However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems. – 1 Corinthians 7:28
Read: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
There are many couples going into marriage expecting fairy tale endings. The apostle Paul clearly gives us instructions about what we need to face when we get married. Sadly, the world gives us unrealistic expectations about it. Our focus on serving God is divided when we are married. So, why do people expect marriage to be smooth sailing all the time?
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think people expect a trouble-free marriage?
• Why is it hard to serve God first when we are married?
AS YOU WERE WHEN GOD CALLED YOU Poem Devotional
August 13
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AS YOU WERE WHEN GOD CALLED YOU
A poem by ILMA
Those who are married, the Lord commands you these
A wife must not leave her husband but if she does
She must remain single or be reconciled to him
And the husband must not leave his wife likewise.
If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer
And she is willing to continue living with him, he mustn’t leave her
And if a believing woman has a husband who’s an unbeliever
If he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.
For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage,
And the believing husband brings holiness to his matrimony
Otherwise, your children wouldn’t be holy, but now they are holy
If the unbelieving spouse insist on leaving, let them go.
In such cases the believing spouse is no longer bound to the other
Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you?
And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
Each one should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed them.
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MEMORY VERSE
Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. – 1 Corinthians 7:17
Read: 1 Corinthians 7:10-17
Isn’t it amazing that the Lord gave us clear instructions about marriage in this account of Paul to the Corinthians? As believers, it is good for us to follow these instructions about marriage in order for us to be able to thrive in our marriages. The trouble with many of us is that we don’t follow these rules and so we end up having broken marriages.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think God blesses the marriage even if they are unequally yoked?
• Why are unbelievers made holy by the believers?