WHEN THERE’S NO SHEPHERD Poem Devotional

February 20
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Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep, they are attacked because they have no shepherd. – Zechariah 10:2(NLT)
WHEN THERE’S NO SHEPHERD
A poem and essay by ILMA
When there is no one leading a flock
It is easy to get lost and be stuck
Like a sheep without a shepherd
We can become very helpless.
If one ever goes astray from God’s fold
He will look for him and leave them all
When you feel lost and start wandering
Your beloved Jesus will always be rescuing.
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Hundreds of sheep followed their leader off a cliff in eastern Turkey, plunging to their deaths this week while shepherds looked on in dismay. Four hundred sheep fell 15 metres to their deaths in a ravine in Van province near Iran but broke the fall of another 1,100 animals who survived. Shepherds from a nearby village neglected the flock while eating breakfast, leaving the sheep to roam free. The loss to local farmers was estimated at $74,000. One sheep wandered off a cliff and 1,499 others just followed along. This shows how dumb sheep are. Another trait they have is that they are directionless. This is why they need a shepherd because they have no clue where they are going. The bible says that when we don’t have a shepherd to watch us, we will stray.
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PRAYER
Lord, let me never lose focus on you shepherding me.
REFLECTION
What happens to believers who have no one to lead them?
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

LIKE STRAY SHEEP Poem Devotional

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August 24________________________________________
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:6 (NLT)
LIKE STRAY SHEEP
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you don’t abide and go your own way
You are like a sheep who has strayed
Some believers do not follow God’s will
No wonder they cannot be still.
When we leave the path of righteousness
We open ourselves to covetousness
Like stray sheep, we need a shepherd
God gave his only Son so we can be herded.
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Have you ever seen how sheep behave when they get lost? It was funny to watch the family movie “Babe.” The hero of the movie was a pig who acted like a dog and was trained to shepherd the sheep. When a sheep is lost, it looks so vulnerable and confused. It reminded me how we people behave when we do not have someone to lead us and care for us.
The bible tells us how believers are like stray sheep. We are so vulnerable to the dangers around us in this world, just like the sheep are to the wolves and other predators. When we leave the path that God wants us to take and go on our own, we become susceptible to get lost and fall into danger. I God is faithful to save all the lost sheep through Christ.
PRAYER
Lord, never let me stray.
REFLECTION
Relate a time when you strayed from God and its consequences.________________________________________
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

SEARCHING FOR THE LOST Poem Devotional

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July 21                                                                           The Power of God’s Word
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?–Luke 15:4 (NLT)
SEARCHING FOR THE LOST
A poem and essay by ILMA
If you value something and it gets missing
Wouldn’t you stop everything and go searching?
Won’t you leave the rest of what you are doing?
Won’t you find a way to know where they are going?
Searching for someone gone astray that you love most
Is like a shepherd looking for one lost sheep amidst them all
God would do everything to get back those who left Him
He will wait patiently until they’re ready to be redeemed.
The parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 is a story about a prodigal son who have turned his back from the love of his father and selfishly squandered his inheritance. While he was recklessly spending all the money he got from his father, he couldn’t care less about anything. When he finished them all and started to get hungry, that is when he realized what he has lost. The love of God is clearly illustrated in this parable. If any of his children turn their backs on him, he would do everything to retrieve them.
PRAYER
Lord, let me never turn my back on you.
REFLECTION
How much do you appreciate God’s love?