Tag Archives: heart

WORDS CAN DEFILE Poem Devotional

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December 6________________________________________
The words you speak come from the heart-that’s what defiles you. – Matthew 15:18(NLT)
WORDS CAN DEFILE
A poem and essay by ILMA
What have you been saying lately?
Does it edify or hurt someone immensely?
The words you speak come from the heart
It can defile you or it can make others glad.
Guard your mouth for it reflects what is inside you
Ensure that you are the person Jesus made new
Words can destroy or edify; it is powerful
Do you use it to encourage others to stay faithful?
________________________________________Many people have been defiled by what they have said. The bible says that the one thing that can tarnish our person is the words that come out of our mouths. In Proverbs 18:21, we are warned that death and life lies in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 21:23 says that whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. The book of James gives us a good lesson on restraining our tongues. He reminds us that we all stumble in many ways and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to control his whole body.
What we say is a reflection of the condition of our hearts. If we encourage and help, we have stayed pure, but if we criticize and put down someone, we have defiled ourselves.
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PRAYER
Lord help me to guard my mouth and keep my heart pure.
REFLECTION
What have you said that has defiled you?
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

GOD EXAMINES THE HEART Poem Devotional

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April 19________________________________________
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. – Psalm 139:1(NLT)
GOD EXAMINES THE HEART
A poem and essay by ILMA
O Lord, please examine my heart
Look closely and help me never to brag
Your love for me is unconditional and true
Help my heart to be cleansed and renewed.
Convict me when I am inclined to do wrong
Show me how to be patient and endure long
Help me never to allow my heart to harden
Heal me when it gets corrupted or broken.

Heart surgery is done to correct problems with the heart. The most common type of heart surgery for adults is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During CABG, a healthy artery or vein from the body is connected, or grafted, to a blocked coronary (heart) artery. The grafted artery or vein bypasses (that is, goes around) the blocked portion of the coronary artery. This creates a new path for oxygen-rich blood to flow to the heart muscle. CABG can relieve chest pain and may lower the risk of having a heart attack. Traditional heart surgery, often called open-heart surgery, is done by opening the chest wall to operate on the heart. This allows the surgeon to operate on a heart that isn’t beating and that doesn’t have blood flowing through it.
Spiritual heart surgery happens when God examines our hearts and rebukes us if it’s been corrupted by sin. He revives us through his word.
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PRAYER
Lord, always examine and cleanse my heart.
REFLECTION
Why do we need to allow hearts to be examined by God?
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

ONLY YOUR OWN HEART KNOWS Poem Devotional

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July 19
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Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.
-Proverbs 14:10(NLT)
ONLY YOUR OWN HEART KNOWS
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you are overflowing with joy, only your heart knows
You cannot fully share your feelings, joys or sorrows
Each heart knows its own grief from losses and its own bitterness
No one else can fully share what its going through or its emptiness.
Only God knows fully what your heart is capable of
No amount of words will suffice to say what you’re going through
Sometimes even your own heart may deny the painful truth
It is when you open up to God that you will be soothed.
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Have you ever opened up to someone very close to you, ¬¬yet feel that you have not been understood totally? The bible says in Romans 8:27 that only God knows the depth of our hearts. It is only him who can totally understand us and what we are going through. There is no need to hide from God whatever it is that is bothering you. We sometimes make the mistake of opening up our struggles to our loved ones and friends. Then we sometimes hear unsolicited pieces of advise or they project what they would have done in your situation. It is good to pour out your heart to a loved one, but when you share it with God, you will always hear the right thing to do.
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PRAYER
Lord, please let me only open my heart to you.
REFLECTION
Why is it important to open up to God?
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

DEEP WITHIN YOUR HEART Poem Devotional

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June 14________________________________________
Write them deep within your hearts. -Proverbs 3:3(NLT)
DEEP WITHIN YOUR HEART
A poem and essay by ILMA
When there is a lie that is presented to you
Run to Scriptures and let your mind be renewed
Meditate on truth day and night; write it
Feed on the message; constantly speak it.
The Lord wants you to store it deep in your heart
It will make you strong and make you win the war
The word of God is the sword of your spirit
Use it to attack the lies that the enemy spits.
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Writing therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the act of writing and processing the written word as therapy. Expressive writing is a form of writing therapy developed primarily by James W. Pennebaker in the late 1980s. Studies have shown that expressive writing results in significant improvements in various biochemical markers of physical and immune functioning.
I could attest to the value that expressive writing has contributed in helping me manage my emotional traumas. Journaling the traumatic events made me look into the past incidents in a more objective way, but it wasn’t until I became a born again Christian that got healed. It was the word of God that released me from all the strongholds and traumas. The bible tells us to write Scriptures deep within our hearts.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your words of wisdom when I need it.
REFLECTION
Has the word of God convicted you of anything in your life?
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

GOD KNOWS EACH PERSON’S HEART Poem Devotional

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February 19________________________________________
From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. – Psalm 33:14-15(NLT)
GOD KNOWS EACH PERSON’S HEART
A poem and essay by ILMA
Who can ever know what is in a man’s heart?
Who knows you through and through from the very start?
God made every living creature and each human being
He patterned them in his image so there is no hiding.
God knows each person’s heart from the very core
He can understand how it works even before it is formed
There is no point in running away from your heavenly father
He knows everything; after all, he is your maker.
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Before I was a born again Christian, I had this habit of guessing people’s intentions and thinking. I think I learned this ungodly behavior from my work as a stage manager and an actor. When we make a character sketch of the role we are playing, we presume and assume certain traits of the person based on what they are saying and doing in the manuscript. I didn’t realize that this habit intersected my real life. I began guessing what people think and judge their actions.
1 Samuel 16:7 says that God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. Only God knows each person’s heart for he made us all.
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PRAYER
Lord, help me never to try to interpret people’s hearts.
REFLECTION
Why is it dangerous to assume or presume other people’s intentions?
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

LETTER WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS poem devotional

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January 29________________________________________
Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. -2 Corinthians 3:2(NLT)
LETTER WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS
A poem and essay by ILMA
Your lives are a letter written in our hearts
Everyone can read it and recognize how you start
It tells others the story about God’s work in you
It shows how you are loved much and given a life anew.
So live honorable lives that is focused on Christ
When people read the letter, it will produce light
Your pure life will glorify your heavenly Father
It will bring joy and peace to your sisters and brothers.
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As young as seven years old, I have written letters to my father who was mostly working abroad that time. I learned early that letters will connect me to him despite the distance we have between us. He worked as a surveyor in Engineering companies in different parts of the world building highways and roads. The letters somehow shortened the geographical distance between us. It made me know more about him. It is ironic that I knew him more than I knew those who lived close to me. Written communication is a good way to keep connected to someone. The bible tells us that our lives are letters written in our hearts and everyone can read it and recognize the good work that God is doing in our lives.
PRAYER
Lord, make my life continually shine for others to know you.
REFLECTION
How many people have you led to God because of your righteous living?
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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

THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART Poem Devotional

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March 1
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalm 73:26(NLT)
THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART
A poem and essay by ILMA
I am so weak and frail from past pains and rejection
Will you heal me now that I am full of affliction?
My health is compromised and my spirit is weak
Shower me with your strength but keep me meek.
You are the most high and you remain my strength
Without you, life is bleak and full of discontent
Keep me focused on you so I will endure
You are the only one that can make me secure.
Do you suffer from any health issues, lack of faith or lost hope? I have experienced all these challenges in life. How I survived all of my adversities is beyond comprehension. I am sure that God was the strength that kept my heart going and eventually my body, mind and feelings followed. One of God’s names is “Elohim” meaning “strength” or “power.” Do you ever wonder how you can withstand trials and sufferings? That is because God is the source of our strength.
Psalm 73:26 shows us that the psalmist got comfort from knowing that God remains the strength of his heart. He may have many challenges in life, but he knows that God will be his strength and that he belongs to him.
PRAYER
Lord, keep me secure in your strength. Let me lean on you always.
REFLECTION
How do you differentiate the concept of strength in God’s economy to how the world views it?
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