July 27
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SALVATION EVEN TO THE GENTILES
A poem by ILMA
Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of the Lord
A few have found favor—the ones God has selected
The hearts of the rest were hardened and God put them into sleep
To this day he has shut their eyes and ears, so they don’t see or hear.
David said in the Psalms, “Let their bountiful table become a snare,
They are trapped to think that all is well and let them stumble
For they get what they deserve and let their eyes go blind
This way they cannot see and let their backs be forever bent.”
God’s people were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles
But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves
If the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer Think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
God has appointed Paul the apostle to minister to the Gentiles
Since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world
The Gentile’s acceptance of the Good News will be even more wonderful
It will be life for those who were dead and freedom from knowing the gospel.
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MEMORY VERSE
For I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. – Romans 11:14
Read: Romans 11:1-15
What an awesome thing God did when his own people turned their backs on him. He spread his mercy to the Gentile, to those who don’t know him. He was after people’s heart, Gentile or Jew. He will not miss any opportunity to get someone saved.
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REFLECTION
• What does it take to get God’s blessings and approval?
• Why do you think God made salvation available not only to the Jews but also the Gentiles?
Tag Archives: poetry
MESSAGE ON SALVATION Poem Devotional
July 26
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MESSAGE ON SALVATION
A poem by ILMA
The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach
Declare that Jesus is Lord and believe his resurrection and you’ll be saved
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God.
As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will not be disgraced”
Jew and Gentile[ are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord
God generously lavishes all those who to all call on him
For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him?
And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about Christ
And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?
How beautiful are the feet of messengers who brings the Good News!
But not everyone welcomes the Good News with open heart
Faith comes from hearing the Good News about Christ
God’s case to his people is that all day long he opened his arms
But his people were disobedient and continued to be rebellious.
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MEMORY VERSE
For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. – Romans 10:3
Read: Romans 10
In this letter of Paul to the Romans, he pleads them to heed the invitation of God for them to be saved by declaring that Jesus is Lord and by believing that he was resurrected from the dead. This letter reminds us of our responsibility to bring the Good News to everyone so that the message of salvation will spread all over the earth.
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REFLECTION
• Have you been telling about the message of salvation to all the ends of the earth?
GOD’S MERCY AND POWER Poem Devotional
July 25
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GOD’S MERCY AND POWER
A poem by ILMA
God shows mercy and compassion to anyone he chooses,
It is him who decides who to show mercy and we can’t elect it
He shows mercy to some, and to others, he makes their hearts hardened
His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways.
Though God has the right to show his anger and his power
He is very patient with those on whom his anger falls
He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter
We are among those whom he selected from all his creation.
In Hosea’s prophecy, God declares even those Gentiles as his people
Those who were not his people, now belong to him as well
Those whom he didn’t use to love before, he loves them now
They will also now be called “children of the living God.”
Though the Israelites are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,
Only a remnant will be saved for the LORD will carry out his sentence
And if the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children,
All Israelites would have been wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah.
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MEMORY VERSE
For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” So, it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. – Romans 9:15-16
Read: Romans 9
It is amazing to know how some Christians think that mercy can be earned. In this chapter, Paul clearly reminds us of Hosea’s prophecy of how it is at God’s discretion whom he chooses to be saved or wiped out.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think people assume that they can earn God’s mercy and compassion?
• How is God’s power displayed when he forgives us?
• Why do some believers think that they have control over their lives?
NOTHING SEPARATES US FROM GOD
July 24
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NOTHING SEPARATES US FROM GOD
A poem by ILMA
Isn’t it amazing to know that God gave up his own Son to save mankind?
He chose in advance all those who belong to him and gave them life
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own?
No one – for God himself gave us right standing through his Son.
Who then will condemn us? No one – for Christ died for us
He was raised to life for us and sitting at God’s right hand
If God’s spirit lives inside us, who can ever be against us?
Can anything ever separate us from the love of God?
I am convinced that nothing can ever part us from our Father
No power in the sky above or in the earth below
Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us him
He sent his Son to redeem us while we were all still in sin.
Not even the powers of hell can keep us apart from God’s love
He has promised faithfulness to all those who love him above all
He will never forsake or leave us especially when we have trials
He assures us of his unconditional and unfathomable love forever.
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MEMORY VERSE
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. – Romans 8:38
Read: Romans 8:31-39
Have you ever wondered who can surpass the love of God among all those people you love and who claim they love you? No one can outdo God in terms of love. Love is His make and he made us all into his own image. Let’s always choose love and give up fear.
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REFLECTION
• Share an experience when the love of God was so present and powerful in your life?
HEIRS OF GOD’S GLORY Poem Devotional
July 23
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HEIRS OF GOD’S GLORY
A poem by ILMA
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no duty to follow your cravings
If you constantly think of your selfish desires and live by its dictates, you will die
But if through the Spirit’s power, you die to your sinful nature, you will live
All those who are led by the Spirit of God are true children of God.
You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves
Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children
Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that We are God’s children and since we are his children, we are his heirs.
In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory
But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal later
For all creation is waiting eagerly for a revelation that we are his real children.
Creation looks forward to the day when we will be free from death and decay
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
We long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering
We wait and hope for the new bodies he has promised us in heaven.
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MEMORY VERSE
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
– Romans 8:17
Read: Romans 8:12-24
When we are given an inheritance, we feel so much loved. The legacy symbolizes the love of that person to us. They cared enough to think about what will happen to us when they pass on. They show how much we are thought of and loved.
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REFLECTION
• Do you take suffering as a part of sharing your inheritance in Christ?
LIVING IN THE SPIRIT Poem Devotional
July 22
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LIVING IN THE SPIRIT
A poem by ILMA
There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus
Because you belong to him, you were freed by his life-giving Spirit
The power of sin that leads to death has lost its control over you
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of our sinful nature.
God did what the law could not do by sending his own Son among us
In that body God declared an end to the power of sin and the law
We can no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things.
Those who live by the Holy Spirit think about pleasing the Spirit
Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death and decay
But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace
For the sinful nature is always hostile to God and never obeys.
As believers of Christ, you have no obligation to do what your nature says
For if you live by its dictates, you will suffer and struggle and will die
But if through the Spirit’s power, you put to death the deeds of your nature
You will live, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
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MEMORY VERSE
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. – Romans 8:9
Read: Romans 8
How do you know if someone is really an authentic believer? In this chapter, Paul explains what it means to be living a Spirit led life. When one becomes a follower of Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord lives in their hearts. They no longer follow the dictates of their sinful nature. They choose to be led by what the Spirit says.
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REFLECTION
• Do you live under the leading of the Spirit or do you follow all the dictates of your flesh?
FUTURE GLORY Poem Devotional
July 21
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FUTURE GLORY
A poem by ILMA
What we suffer now is incomparable to the glory He’ll reveal to us
For all creation is eagerly waiting to know who his children really are
Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse
But with eager hope, creation looks forward when we join him.
We believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit
We long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering
We eagerly hope when God will give us our full rights as adopted children
We were given this hope when we were saved and believed in Jesus.
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and tells us what to pray for
He shows us to pray with groanings that cannot be expressed in words
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is say
For the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s ways.
God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him
God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like Christ
And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself
And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
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MEMORY VERSE
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28
Read: Romans 8:18-30
When we become Christians, we have hope that the promise of God for a future glory is going to happen. Unlike unbelievers, we can see that God causes everything, even the bad things to work for God’s glory. How loving our heavenly Father is, he gave us his son so that we can have right standing with him where Jesus is the oldest and all believers have the same right as him.
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REFLECTION
• What should we remember when we encounter hardships and trials in life?
LIVE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF GRACE Poem Devotional
July 19
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LIVE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF GRACE
A poem by ILMA
Since we have died to sin, we can’t continue to live in it
When we joined Christ in baptism, we united with him in his death
For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism
Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the heavenly father
Now we also may live new lives and will also be raised like him
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ
Sin lost its power in our lives so we’re no longer slaves
For when we died with Christ, we were set free from its power.
When Jesus died on the cross, it is to break sin’s power
Now that he lives, he does it for the glory of God
Do not let sin control the way you live or give in to sinful desires
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument to serve sin
Give yourselves completely to God for now you have new life
Use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right
Sin is no longer your master and no longer live under law
Instead, do your best to live under the freedom of God’s grace.
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MEMORY VERSE
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. – Romans 6:14
Read: Romans 6:1-14
When we become born again, we are not bound by the law or sin. It was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that enables all believers to be able to live under the grace of God. This makes Christians have the ability to live under the undeserved favor from our heavenly father.
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REFLECTION
• Why do some Christians stay legalistic instead of remembering what God did when he gave his only begotten Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us to be free?
• What challenges do you face that makes you see God’s favor on your life?
• Why is sin no longer your master when you became born again?
ALL PEOPLE ARE SINNERS Poem Devotional
July 17
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ALL PEOPLE ARE SINNERS
A poem by ILMA
Can anyone claim that they have never committed a sin?
If someone did, then they are not honest and is lying
Scripture says that no one is righteous, not even one
No one is truly wise and no one is seeking God.
All have turned away and we all have become useless
No one does good, not a single one for we are all sinners
One moment we speak praise, then we also speak evil things
We are by nature selfish and want to please our desires.
But now God has shown us a way to be right with him
He gave us his only begotten Son so we can be saved from sin
We only need to place our faith in Jesus and he cleanses us
We all fall short of the glory of God, yet he declares us righteous.
Can we boast that we have done anything to be accepted by God?
No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law but by faith
We are made right with God only by faith, whether we are Jews or Gentiles
Only when we believe in Christ and have faith can we truly fulfill the law.
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MEMORY VERSE
Only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. – Romans 3:31
Read: Romans 3:9-31
In the world we live in, accountability and repentance have become a novelty. We justify our sins and call it mistakes, faults, weaknesses. We have lived lives of compromise. We live busy lives in this world that makes us follow the dictates of society and the world system. Following God has lost its priority in our lives. We become corrupted by this world’s standards and forget to grow our faith which leads us to a life of integrity.
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REFLECTION
• How can we grow our faith so that we can sin less?
• Why do you think some people deny the fact that they have sinned?
ADAM AND CHRIST Poem Devotional
July 17
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ADAM AND CHRIST
A poem by ILMA
When Adam disobeyed, sin entered the world; Adam’s sin brought death
Death spread to everyone and all people sinned before the law was given
But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.
And yet everyone died from the time of Adam to the time of Moses.
Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift
For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many of us human
Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift makes us right with God.
Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone
Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God
Because Adam disobeyed God, many became sinners
But because Christ obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful we humans are
But as people sinned more and more, God’s grace became more abundant
So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death
God gives us right standing with God resulting in eternal life.
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MEMORY VERSE
Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. – Romans 5:18
Read: Romans 5:12-21
Because of Adam’s disobedience, the whole humankind inherited sin. Because of what he did, we are all bent and have the tendency to be selfish. But God loved us so much that he gave us his son Jesus to break the power of sin over us all. Obedience to God’s will was what brought us back to become re-united with our heavenly Father.
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REFLECTION
• How can obedience matter so much to overcome selfishness?