December 12
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WHEN JONAH OBEYED
A poem by ILMA
Once again the LORD spoke to Jonah and said “Go to Nineveh
Proclaim to the people the message I have given you.”
So, Jonah obeyed the LORD and went to the big city
It took three days to walk through the whole Nineveh
Jonah proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”
The people of Nineveh believed God’s message
They decided all should fast from the greatest to the least
They put on sackcloth, each one of them, to show that they had repented
When the king heard about it, he got up from his throne
He took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat down in ashes.
He sent out a proclamation to the people of Nineveh
“This is an order from the king and his officials
No one is to eat anything; all persons are forbidden to eat or drink
Each person and animals must wear sackcloth
All must pray earnestly to God and give up their wickedness
Perhaps God will change his mind and stop being angry
Then the whole city will be saved and we will not die!”
God saw what they did, he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior
So, he changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would.
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MEMORY VERSE
So, Jonah obeyed the LORD and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to walk through it. – Jonah 3:3
Read: Jonah 3:1-10
When Jonah finally obeyed the Lord after he was spitted from the fish, a miracle happened. The wicked people of Nineveh, repented. All from the king and everyone.
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REFLECTION
• What stops people from walking in obedience?
• What happened when Jonah finally obeyed the Lord after running the first time?
Tag Archives: OBEDIENCE
MAY GOD’S WILL BE DONE! Poem Devotional
December 8
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MAY GOD’S WILL BE DONE!
A poem by ILMA
During Elizabeth’s 6th month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth
It was in a village in Galilee to a virgin named Mary who was engaged to be married
She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David
Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings! favored woman! The Lord is with you!
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus
He will be very great and be called the Son of the Most High
He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham long ago.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David
And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you
The power of the Most High will overtake you; the baby will be the Son of God
What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age
They say she was barren, but she has conceived and is now in her sixth month
For the word of God will never fail.” Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant
May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
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MEMORY VERSE
“I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” – Luke 2:38
Read: Luke 2:26-38
The promise of the coming of the Messiah became possible with Mary’s humility and obedience. What a blessing it is when we walk into the will of God. We open up heaven’s gates and bring heaven to come to realize here on earth.
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REFLECTION
• When was the last time you succumbed and surrender to God’s call in your life even though it didn’t make sense at that time he was inviting you to say “yes” to ¬¬him?
OBEDIENCE: SIGN THAT WE KNOW GOD Poem Devotional
November 30
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OBEDIENCE: SIGN THAT WE KNOW GOD
A poem by ILMA
I am writing this to you so that you will not sin, but you have a Helper
We have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father
He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous
He himself is the sacrifice that atones for the sins of the whole world.
We can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t follow what he says
That person is a liar and is not living in the truth
Those who obey God truly show how completely they love him.
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did
We are commanded to love one another as has been told to us before
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer
That person is still in the dark and has been blinded by the darkness.
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MEMORY VERSE
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. – 1 John 2:4-5
Read: 1 John 2:1-11
There is a big discrepancy between saying we know God and claiming we are believers and yet fail to obey God’s commands. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot actually walk in truth and obedience. It is only the Spirit of the Lord that can convict us when we do wrong and show us a way out, or we get stuck in the sin. Those who say that they know God and yet don’t put into action the truth, they are only lying to themselves and are still living in darkness and does not live in the light.
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REFLECTION
• Why is obedience to God’s commands one of the hardest things to do in this world?
• Why is action an important part of being a Christian?
• What happens when we don’t do what we hear in the word of God?
• Why are we lying when we claim we are Christians and hate a fellow believer?
OBEDIENCE: A SPIRITUAL WEAPON
November 4________________________________________
This is how I spend my life: obeying your commandments. – Psalm 119:56(NLT)
OBEDIENCE: A SPIRITUAL WEAPON
A poem and essay by ILMA
Have you submitted yourself to Jesus Christ?
What have you done to imitate his life?
A life of obedience glorifies the Lord
It leads to you overcome this world.
Without obedience, one can’t have victory
Rebellion is how we are attacked by the enemy
When we follow God’s instructions
It becomes a weapon against temptations.
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Many of the people that God used in fulfilling the promise of a Messiah had one thing in common. They were all obedient to God’s call. Abraham was the epitome of complete surrender to God’s call. In Genesis 12, Abram was called by the Lord and instructed to leave his native country, his relatives and his father’s family to go to a land that he wasn’t sure of. God instructed him in verse 1-2 that he will show him where that place is going to be and that he will make him into a great nation. In verse 3, God said that all families on earth will be blessed through him. Abram came from Ur in the Chaldees and they were from a pagan land. God used him to bring his people to Canaan, the promised land. Because of his obedience, he became the father of all nations. He became the leader of many nations.
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PRAYER
Lord, let me always live in obedience to your will.
REFLECTION
How is obedience a spiritual weapon against Satan?
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
OBEDIENCE BRINGS REVELATION Poem Devotional
December 30
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Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. – John 14:21 (NLT)
OBEDIENCE BRINGS REVELATION
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you commit your life to the Lord
Obedience is the proof that you are faithful
When you follow his will and commands
You will discern and understand life’s demands.
It is through your submission that you gain wisdom
It is by following his truth that you live in freedom
When you manifest your love for the Father through obedience
You will see things in God’s view and become resilient.
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Have you ever wondered why rebellion is fatal? Let’s look back at man’s first original sin. Adam and Eve where provided with all the things in life. They didn’t have to toil or suffer because they had everything in that paradise that God made for them. The serpent enticed them to disobey the only prohibition that God gave them. They were told that they can eat any fruit from any three except one tree. If they trusted the Lord and followed, sin wouldn’t have come to life. Disobedience covers a multitude of other sins such as pride, doubt, rebellion, arrogance, haughtiness and envy. The bible tells us that when we obey, we get revelations from God himself.
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PRAYER
Lord, help me never to turn and disobey you.
REFLECTION
What role has disobedience played in your life? How were you delivered from it?
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
TO THE OBEDIENT Poem Devotional
December 19
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To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end. To them I will give authority over all the nations. -Revelations 2:26(NLT)
TO THE OBEDIENT
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you choose a path of obedience to God
You are showing your devotion and bringing him laud
God promises victory to all who obey his instructions
He gives them authority over all the nations.
Continue to follow all of God’s commands
You will find favor in going through life’s demands
Stay faithful to the truth that will set you free
The Lord will anoint you and you will have peace.
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One of the strongholds in my family of origin is rebellion and stubbornness. I learned to be a rebel since I was a young girl. I didn’t know it was a sin that my whole family struggled with because no one was a born again Christian. No one read the bible to know the truth that will set us free. We all followed our own desires and ambitions without any reverence to what the Lord wants for us. Disobedience made my life very challenging because I didn’t even count all the blessings I was receiving. I was blinded by my selfish nature and was just concerned with satisfying my cravings. The bible promises victory to the obedient and God gives them dominion over all nations. When we obey, we show that we love the Lord.
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PRAYER
Lord, let me never be disobedient to your will.
REFLECTION
Who were the best example in the bible of obedience? How did God repay their faithfulness?
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
RESULT OF OBEDIENCE Poem devotional
September 19
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Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. – Psalm 119:1(NLT)
RESULT OF OBEDIENCE
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you follow the Lord’s commands
You will not be overwhelmed by life’s demands
Those who live a life of integrity
They will have joy even in adversity.
When you follow the ways of Jesus Christ
There is peace that will envelope your life
Follow the instructions of the Lord
It will please him and bring him laud.
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Baker’s Evangelical dictionary defines “joy” as happiness over an unanticipated or present good. It is “sama” in Hebrew and covers a wide range of human experiences from sexual love, to marriage, to birth of children, the gathering of harvest, military victory or drinking wine. On the spiritual level it refers to the extreme happiness with which the believer contemplates salvation and the bliss of the afterlife.
Do you have joy in your heart? How do we know if we have it? I used to think that I have the joy of the Lord, but I only had fleeting happiness when I achieve the goal I set for myself. As the spiritual joy was mentioned in the definition by the Evangelical dictionary, it is an extreme happiness that is expecting always the bliss of eternal life which will be granted to those who love the Lord. When you follow God’s word, you will experience joy.
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PRAYER
Lord, grant me the gift of joy. You promised it as one of your Spirit’s fruits.
REFLECTION
How can we gauge that we have the joy of the Lord?
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
OBEDIENCE IS PROOF Poem Devotional
June 22________________________________________
All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.
– John 14:23-24 (NLT)
OBEDIENCE IS PROOF
A poem and essay by ILMA
The best proof of your love for the Father is obedience
He loves it when you rely on him for providence
When you obey him, you are submitting to his will
When you agree to whatever he says, you’ll overcome sin.
Anyone who doesn’t love God doesn’t obey
They live in darkness and do not pray
All those who are obedient to his word get much blessings
God’s Spirit dwells in them so they are not prone to sinning.
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Obedience is key to a fruitful and blessed life. We are given many stories in the bible of people whom God used because they were obedient. Abraham obeyed the Lord to leave his native land Ur to the promised land and he became father of all nations. Mary obeyed the calling to bear Jesus’ despite her confusion at first. She became the mother of Jesus and was blessed among all women. Rahab, who despite being a prostitute followed the call to help the Israelites to conquer Jericho. Her family became part of the lineage of Jesus. The bible says that obedience is proof that you love the Lord and disobedience leads to destruction.
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PRAYER
Lord, help me to be able to constantly heed your words.
REFLECTION
What happens when people constantly disobey 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
A WARNING TO THE UNRULY Poem Devotional
January 27________________________________________
Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you will not listen to me and obey my word I have given you and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets-for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them-then I will destroy this temple. I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’
– Jeremiah 26:4-5,6(NLT)
A WARNING TO THE UNRULY
A poem and essay by ILMA
Are you still rebelling against God’s will?
Be warned for the consequences are for real
The Lord says that if we listen and obey his word
We will be on our way to have triumph over the world.
God warns us of the consequences of disobedience
Destruction is in the offing if you continue your insolence
Don’t let time fly by and not heed this cautioning
You will be sorry if you didn’t follow this warning.
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There were many years of my life that I lived in disobedience to my parents and to God. I wallowed in the abuses and criticisms that I grew into and carried it to my adult life. As a result, I was surrounded by negative people who thought like me. I embraced bitterness and as a result, I lived a cursed life. The moment I re-committed to God and obeyed his word, he transformed me and my entire life flourished.
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PRAYER
Lord, thank you for restoring me.
REFLECTION
Why do you think obedience is paramount to our salvation?
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
WHEN YOU LOVE GOD Poem Devotional
December 20
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar. Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. – 1 John 4:20&;21(NLT)
WHEN YOU LOVE GOD
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you love God, you will follow his will
When you love God, you will learn to be still
When you love God, you will love your neighbors
When you love God, you will respect and not force
When you love God, there is peace in your life
When you love God, you will live under his light
When you love God, you will live in his truth
When you love God, you will allow his words to take root.
Most Christians think that they love God, but a few of them do not really manifest that love in their relationships with others. Since we cannot see God, how can we show that we mean what we declare? Loving is not just saying or committing to Jesus in one day. It means that we are submitting ourselves to follow through that promise we made all of our lives.
The bible says that if we say that we love God and yet hate someone, we are called liars. He requires us to love others if we claim that we love him. We must manifest this love in the physical realm by showing it to one another.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to constantly love you through others.
REFLECTION
What happens when you claim you love God and yet are mean to others?
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