May 1
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GIDEON’S FALL AS A JUDGE
A poem by ILMA
It was amazing how the Lord brought Gideon as their deliverer
He used to be so humble and always consulted God before battle
As his brothers were killed by Zebah and Zalmunna, his heart changed
He began to do things on his own and endangered his kingship over Israel.
Gideon began to tread the smaller towns of Succoth and Peniel differently
He dealt with the offense of the people of Ephraim with cunning flattery
Yet, he threatened the smaller towns that he will get back at them
When he was victorious, these two small towns got what they deserved.
When Israel asked him to be their ruler, yet Gideon declined
He only requested for a gold earring from their plunder from enemies
From all their contributions, the gold weighed forty-three pounds
Out of all this, he made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah.
Why did he want to make a vessel fit for a high priest or a king?
Did he want power and recognition for all his victorious battles?
This ephod became an idol for the Israelites, they worshiped it
It became a trap for Gideon’s as it directly made them adulterous to God.
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MEMORY VERSE
Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. – Judges 8:27
Read: Judges 8
What happened to Gideon? He started out as a very humble servant of God. Just after a victory over the Midianites, his heart immediately changed and greed and power came out of what began as a humble and faithful heart for God.
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REFLECTION
• What led to Gideon’s change of heart?
• Why do you think he made an ephod for himself and put it in his hometown?
Tag Archives: greed
WHEN ONE LOVES MONEY Poem Devotional
Nov 16
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Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.
– Proverbs 11:28(NLT)
WHEN ONE LOVES MONEY
A poem and essay by ILMA
When a person becomes obsessed with money
The focus is to get more of it to have plenty
The love of money is the root of all evil
It opens a very wide door for the devil.
When you trust in your money, and down you go
If you trust in the Lord, there is always an overflow
The godly flourish live leaves in the spring
Making money your first is clearly a sin.
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Matthew 6:19-20 says “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” We are warned of the danger of accumulating worldly wealth because they don’t last forever. We are asked to store treasures in heaven instead so that they cannot be stolen or be destroyed. The next verse concludes “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. Many people do not see that it is sin to love money. Money in itself is not bad. We need money so we can have physical comforts and needs satisfied, but to be obsessed with it is idolatry which is putting it first than God.
PRAYER
Lord, guard my heart from greed.
REFLECTION
Share an experience of someone you know loves money so much that it brought about their downfall.
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s poem devotional or go to www.ilmaarts.com posts. To receive emails of my poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com
GREED: ROBBER OF LIFE Poem Devotional
April 10________________________________________
These people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed. Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life. – Proverbs 1:18-19(NLT)
GREED: ROBBER OF LIFE
A poem and essay by ILMA
Are you being robbed of your life?
Do you always stay in God’s light?
When you are greedy, you set traps for yourself
Such appetite doesn’t bring you much help.
Selfishness and greed is the key to all evil
It opens your heart’s door to the devil
Give up covetousness and you’ll be blessed
Be generous and God will do the rest.
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I have observed many greedy and selfish people in my life. I lived with some of these covetous persons and it really was a challenge to watch their lives robbed of peace, joy and contentment. They become so obsessed with hoarding things, wealth, money and other possessions. They work and toil so hard to get what they want and never want to share these things they have. All they do is boast about them and use it to gain power and control of many aspects of their lives. They have no idea that they are being robbed of time, relationships and fellowship with others. They are constantly suspicious of others motives because they think they will be robbed of their material possession. What they don’t realize is that the enemy has stolen their peace and joy.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to be generous.
REFLECTION
How can greed be removed in man’s heart?
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s poem devotional or go to www.ilmaarts.com posts. To receive emails of my poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com
DOWNSIDE OF DESIRE TO BE RICH Poem devotional
March 5
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
-1Timothy 6:9(NLT)
DOWNSIDE OF DESIRE TO BE RICH
A poem and essay by ILMA
Are you one of those people who aspire to be rich?
Will you do everything for money and constantly seek it?
People who long to be rich fall into temptation
They are trapped by foolishness leading to their own destruction.
Remember, where your treasure is, there your heart will be
Are you being enslaved by wealth or are you free indeed?
The downside of wanting to be rich is a life of devastation
Desire God instead of wealth then you will be led to salvation.
There are many people whose major desire in life is to get rich instantly. This is probably why the lottery is a big business today. People want instant wealth. I have heard many sad stories after people won the lottery. Some lost their friends and never learned to trust anyone. Some were killed because the world knows that they have money and they want to steal it from them. Some had broken relationships.
The bible says that there is a downside to desiring to be rich. It becomes a trap. People who are obsessed with wealth plunge themselves into ruin and destruction. Love of money leads to evil.
PRAYER
Lord, show me where you want me to enrich myself with.
REFLECTION
Show an instance when love for money lead to evil.
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s Poem Devotionals, or go to www.ilmaarts.com or to receive emails of the poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com
WARNING ABOUT END OF DAYS Poem Devotional
November 18 The Power of God’s Word
For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. – 2 Timothy 3: 2, 3 (NLT)
WARNING ABOUT END OF DAYS
A poem and essay by ILMA
Look around you and carefully hear the warning
Are you constantly in pursuit of owning or possessing?
Are you keeping a record of wrongs that people did to you?
Are you participating in evil and surrounded with people who are cruel?
God has warned us about the end of days
People will love themselves and follow their own ways
They will be unruly, unloving and unforgiving
They will slander and rely on human reasoning.
Are you witnessing today all the signs that Paul gave us in his letter to Timothy? Take a look at the world we live in. Clamor for power, wealth and fame dominate our society. Many people are hard hearted, unloving, unforgiving and have no self-control. Some people thrive on cruelty, abuse, arrogance, idolatry and greed. All these signs that we were warned in the days of Jesus are so crystal clear today. The desires of the flesh compete with the longing to please God.
PRAYER
Lord, keep me focused on you at all times.
REFLECTION
Do you live your life in such a way that it warns others of the end days?
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s Poem Devotionals, or go to www.ilmaarts.com or to receive emails of the poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com
ANTIDOTE TO GREED Poem Devotional
June 8 The Power of God’s Word
Greed causes fighting trusting the Lord leads to prosperity–Proverbs 28:25 (NLT)
A poem and essay by ILMA
Whenever you cater to your selfish nature
You compromise your integrity and stature
Greed causes conflicts and trouble
Trusting the Lord gets you out of the rubble.
Trust the Lord for it leads to prosperity
Seek him first and you will live in honesty
Bring to him all that you have and he will multiply
The Lord is faithful, all your needs, he will supply.
Greed has been the cause of many conflicts in people’s lives. Sadly, the world has propagated the concept of selfishness in many ways. We are bombarded by marketing strategies disguises wants as needs in order to feed our egos. If our lives are not focused on God, we will easily fall prey to these temptations.
The bible tells us that greed causes fighting but trusting the Lord leads to prosperity. There are many stories in the bible that shows this truth. Cain killed his brother Abel, Saul plotted to kill David; David desired another woman so badly that he killed the husband; Judas sold Jesus because of greed. Many nations have been at war because of greed. The love for control and power is so prevalent in our society. Faithfulness in the Lord will break all poverty.
PRAYER
Lord, keep me away from greed and let me trust you more.
REFLECTION
How can you avoid greed?
THE FUTILITY OF PLEASURE Poem Devotional
April 21 The Power of God’s Word
Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even find great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. –Ecclesiastes 2:10 (NLT)
THE FUTILITY OF PLEASURE
A poem by ILMA
What pleasures do you constantly chase?
Do you run after your own cravings or follow what God says?
Are you relentless in the pursuit of your aspirations?
Do you reward yourself instantly or do you delay gratification?
Seeking pleasure is futile and pointless
It defies your purpose in life which is to be selfless
All pleasures want to satisfy the self
It aims only to serve one’s own flesh.
King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes late in his life when he had chased almost every worldly pursuit imaginable. Later on, he realized that everything is meaningless unless we fear and worship God and obey his commands. It reminds me so much of my life when I pursued goals, ambitions, achievements just so I can be proud of myself. I rewarded myself for working very hard. I boasted of every little progress I made. I took pleasure in rewarding myself for all the hard work I put into it.
King Solomon warned us in Ecclesiastes 2:10 that we must be careful not to be consumed by worldly pleasures and be in constant pursuit of gaining it.
PRAYER
Lord, protect me from selfishness and greed.
REFLECTION
Do you think seeking pleasures is a form of idolatry? Why or why not?