April 22
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PSALM 146
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
– Psalm 146:1-5
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PSALM 146 DON’T PUT YOUR TRUST IN HUMANS
A poem inspired by this psalm by ILMA
Praise the Lord your God for he is the only one whom you can trust
Do not give your trust to friends, yourself or even your loved ones
Humans are by nature sinful, fickle and full of themselves
They are finite and very limited; they don’t see God’s perspective.
When you put your trust in humans, you will surely be disappointed
They don’t see the big picture and can be unsure and ambivalent
Only the Lord is omniscient and can see a man’s heart and intentions
No humans can even have an inkling of the full picture of our situations.
When you confide in humans, you are not sure it won’t spill out
Man’s nature puts the self first and anyone can easily betray us
But if you put your confidence in the One who is Almighty
You won’t be judged unfairly or be condemned unjustly.
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REFLECTION
• When was your trust in someone ever been betrayed? What was the consequences of that betrayal?
• Why does the psalmist warn us about putting our trust in humans?
Tag Archives: Christian devotionals
PSALM 71 YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS O GOD REACHES THE HIGH HEAVENS
May 5
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PSALM 71 YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS O GOD REACHES THE HIGH HEAVENS
19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again; from the depths of the earth, you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God;
I sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.
24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt. – Psalm 71:19-24
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A GOD WHO REVIVES AND COMFORTS by ILMA
My Lord, I praise you with all that I am and all that I have
You have constantly guided and pulled me towards the right path
In all the years that I have lived, I have never felt alone
You were there in the midst of my most traumatic moments
Despite the enemy’s plot to bring me down and defeat me
You never allowed me to be overcome by the devil’s tactics
I bow down to you my Lord and my God who revives the oppressed
You always comforted me and never left me alone to be so depressed
Without you, my Lord, my life will be a total mess
Thank you for healing me from all the abuse and illnesses
All my life challenges built up my character and strength
It added much wisdom and grew my faith and discernment
My lips will only praise you constantly so you can be glorified
You are a God who revives and comforts the poor in spirit.
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REFLECTION
• How can we faithfully worship the Lord for all that he has done for us?
• Why should we be thankful when we undergo trials and suffering?
VARIOUS GIFTS AND OFFICES IN CHRIST’S BODY ILMA’S VLOG
August 14
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VARIOUS GIFTS AND OFFICES IN CHRIST’S BODY
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way. – 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
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In this letter, Paul mentions the different appointments based on the different gifts the Holy Spirit gives to each believer. These are the following appointed gifts to believers:
1. Apostolic- Guzik comments that apostles are “special ambassadors” of the church. Paul and others in his day had a unique apostolic authority, which will never be repeated because the foundation of the church has already been set. However, God still has His “special ambassadors” in the church today, though not with the same authority as the original apostles.
2. Prophetic-these are the gift for speaking out for God. Like apostles. They prophesy only that which come to be true and to happen based on Deuteronomy 18:19-22.
3. Teaching- those who labour in word and doctrine, whether with pastoral charge or without it.
4. Workers of Miracles- Guzik further comments that those used by God to do miracles but done on the Holy Spirit’s initiative, not the initiative of the individual.
5. Healers-those who had power to heal diseases;
6. Helper-Spurgeon comments that they are useful anywhere and stops a gap, and can make themselves serviceable to the church of God in any capacity whatever.”
7. Administrative-governments, or such as had the disposal of the charitable contributions of the church, and dealt them out to the poor
8. Various gifts of tongues- a communicative gift, used in speaking to God, the gift of tongues should be desired when the individual feels a lack in their ability to communicate with God.
Paul explained that each believer is given gifts according to God’s plan and purpose, but believers can desire and ask the Lord to be granted such gifts.
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REFLECTION
• Are you aware of your spiritual gifts and have you been actively doing your office?
AVOIDING LAWSUITS AMONG BELIEVERS ILMA’S VLOG
July 14
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AVOIDING LAWSUITS AMONG BELIEVERS
Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you anyone wise who will be able to decide between his brothers and sisters, 6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer the wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. – 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
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In this letter, Paul confronts once again the Corinthian church of their trivial issues that cause the members of this church to be divided. In verse 1, he raises a question to the family of believers about bringing to court their insignificant issues. He is rebuking them for not dealing with the issues at hand in a loving and wise way. The members of this church were having disputes that they become so petty to bring it to the higher courts. Paul wants them to realize that believers are given the chance to judge the world, or even angels. In verse 3, he reiterates the authority given to those who serve Christ. If the believer has been given the Holy Spirit to live inside him, then he has the gift of wisdom to discern and recognize what is right or wrong and what is loving or not.
He questions them in verse 4 about leaving matters to be decided upon by those who do not belong to the church. Of course, Paul doesn’t discount the importance of government and civil laws. What he is trying to address here were the reports that reached him regarding the unimportant quarrels that could easily be resolved among their fellow believer. In verse 7, he points out to them that he considers it a defeat when they are doing this immature and unloving way to deal with differences among their brothers and sisters in Christ. He was stressing the point that it is better to be cheated on rather than bring it to human courts. It would only show that the family of believers are not united in their understanding of God’s laws.
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REFLECTION
• What does lawsuits among fellow believers reveal to unbelievers and the world?
BOUNDARIES OF FREEDOM
June 24 The Power of God’s Word
For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.–1 Peter 2:16 (NLT)
BOUNDARIES OF FREEDOM
A poem and essay by ILMA
Do you view freedom as doing anything you want?
The enemy thwarts and uses it to keep you in his camp
When you believed in God, you were set free by the cross
So don’t use your freedom to cater to evil and be lost.
When you believed, you were freed from sin
Your freedom was granted on the cross when Christ redeemed
Be righteous and stay away from corruption and evil
It shut the doors that are opened to the devil.
Dictionary meaning of freedom is the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. On the other hand, freedom in Christ is very different from this worldly view. Galatians 5:13 says “For you have been called to live in freedom my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another.” The responsibility that comes with being free lies in serving one another.
The bible also tells us that since we are slaves of God, we use our freedom to do good and not evil. Love is the boundary that keeps freedom alive.
PRAYER
Lord, help me never to abuse freedom.
REFLECTION
Why is it important to love in order to be free?