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: pride
PRIDE DECEIVES Poem Devotional
September 16________________________________________
You have been deceived by your own pride. – Obadiah 1:3(NLT)
PRIDE DECEIVES
A poem and essay by ILMA
Whenever you allow pride to control your life
You are going to be deceived and lose insight
Pride is a sin that will bring about many more
It is like cancer; it brings you down to your core.
Give up this deadly disease or you’ll die
Look up the cross so you can see the light
Jesus died so you can be free from wickedness
Pride roots from evil and selfishness.
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One of the many generational sins that the Lord has freed me from these past six years was pride. It was prevalent in our family and manifests in many different ways. Ambition was one way it showed in our lives. My father and mother worked hard so they can show others that they are better than them. It was almost like competing with others and the more they become good at what they do, the more my parents would ensure that we can live up to their lifestyle. They set such high standards for their children that destroyed them in terms of relational skills. All of my siblings and I struggled very hard in keeping relationships because we were all set up to reach an unreachable and unrealistic standard. Pride has deceived many people and the more we cling to it, the more we feel empty inside.
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PRAYER
Lord, show me how to choose humility instead of my selfish ambitions.
REFLECTION
How can pride sneak in your life? What ways can it show?
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
PROTECTED FROM PRIDE Poem Devotional
February 25
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He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride. – Job 33:17(NLT)
PROTECTED FROM PRIDE
A poem and essay by ILMA
When you become a believer
You will become aware of the deceiver
The enemy will plot to destroy you
Let God have your mind renewed.
The Lord will protect you from pride
He will always be by your side
He delivers you from arrogance
He shows you humility and temperance.
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One of the greatest sins that we can commit is being proud. This is probably why it is considered to be one of the deadliest sins. Pride as a noun is defined as a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. As a verb, it means to be especially proud of a particular quality or skill.
Humility is the opposite of pride. Jesus Christ championed the act of humility by becoming human even though he was God. The world has turned humility into a false idea of not acknowledging one’s strengths and belittling oneself. True humility is actually knowing who you are in Christ and recognising your strengths and weaknesses and using it to further his kingdom.
The bible tells us that the Lord protects all his children from pride. He brings them a thorn in their flesh so they’ll remember who they are in Christ.
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PRAYER
Lord, keep me humble always.
REFLECTION
What are the manifestations of pride in your life that can be tricky to discern?
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
PRIDE CAN MAKE US BLIND Poem Devotional
November 29
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Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. -Psalm 36:1-2(NLT)
PRIDE CAN MAKE US BLIND
A poem and essay by ILMA
Are you proud and haughty with others?
Do you often compare and think you are better?
Those who are wicked have no fear of God at all
They cannot see the truth and how evil they are.
In their blind conceit, they become slaves of Satan
They can’t see that their actions are so fatal
Those who are arrogant have been blinded
Pride keeps them in darkness and in bondage.
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Have you ever dealt with a very arrogant person? I have been in relationship with many proud people in my past. I became haughty because I enmeshed myself with these conceited people. I learned their ways. The bible warns us from having any involvement with any form of wickedness. Pride is the deadliest of all sins because it is the root of many other sins. When we are proud, we surely have envy and bitterness inside our hearts. Pride leads to many other sins such as anger, impatience, irritability, judgment, discrimination, jealousy, insecurity, control, and many more. Scriptures also warn us of the repercussion of being proud, we become blind to the truth and we give the enemy ammunition to kill and destroy us.
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PRAYER
Lord, deliver me from pride.
REFLECTION
As a Christian, how do you deal with proud people?
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
TREACHEROUS ACTS Poem Devotional
October 26
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Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. -Habakkuk 2:5(NLT)
TREACHEROUS ACTS
A poem and essay by ILMA
Are you seeking to gain more wealth?
Do you find yourself loosing rest?
Obsessing on wealth is dangerous
It is tricky and can be treacherous.
When you are constantly busy and restless
The devil may be leading you towards blindness
Behind that compulsion to be busy is arrogance
Watch that you don’t give in to the tricks of Satan.
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John 10:10 clearly says that the enemy’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy us while the Lord gives us an abundant life. There are many tricks the enemy throws at us. The sad thing is that we don’t even see them. He does it subtly and hides it cleverly like an undercover agent, making sure that he penetrates into the weaknesses of their subjects.
The book of Habakkuk was written by a prophet who was concerned about social justice. He asks the question “If God exists, why do the wicked so often prosper? Habakkuk preached before Babylon’s fall in 586 B.C. God answers Habakkuk in this book, asserting him that he will judge all people and righteousness will ultimately prevail.
In this verse, we are warned against the treacherousness of wealth and that restlessness can be a form of arrogance. Isn’t it so true that when we obsess about possession, we are relentless at getting it?
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PRAYER
Lord, deliver me from the love of money and arrogance.
REFLECTION
How can busy-ness be a manifestation of arrogance?
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
HUMILITY BRINGS HONOR Poem Devotional
May 8________________________________________
Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. – Proverbs 29:23(NLT)
HUMILITY BRINGS HONOR
A poem and essay by ILMA
When we acknowledge the source of our life
We are giving him honor and living in his light
When our heart is full of pride and haughtiness
We will end up in humiliation and become a mess.
The act of lowering yourself to your Maker
It is a manifestation of your love to your creator
Follow the example of Jesus so you can be humble
It will help you overcome temptation and not stumble.
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A while back I had an experience when my pride and arrogance had me fall flat on my face. It happened about seven years ago. I was a victim of a group of people who discriminated me and openly scolded me in public and twisted my intentions. The filters of complex traumas I experienced led me to think that they were rejecting me. My suspicion became real because I lived in that fear that they would reject me. Sure enough, my fears turned into reality. An envious administrator of that group, twisted my words because she was jealous of the attention that her husband was giving on my prominence in the art world. I was bold to expose that the group was more of a social club rather than helping marriages to survive. Because of my tactless judgment, they twisted my words and humiliated me publicly.
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PRAYER
Lord, deliver me from pride and haughtiness.
REFLECTION
How can an act of humility change you and 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
JEALOUSY IS LIKE CANCER Poem Devotional
May 2________________________________________
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
-Proverbs 14:30(NLT)
JEALOUSY IS LIKE CANCER
A poem and essay by ILMA
Whenever your heart desires what others have
Be careful! That is not totally walking in love
When you fail to give the Lord thanksgiving
You are going to miss out on many blessings.
Jealousy is like cancer in the bones
Selfishness and Pride is where it comes from
If you think the world owes you something
You lose peace opens the door to continuously sin.
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Jealousy is defined as an unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has. Notice the presence of unhappiness and anger in the definition. The origin of jealousy dates back to our first parents, Adam and Eve. The fall of man was an offshoot of jealousy of Adam and Eve. They want to have the all-knowing character of God. Their desire to want to be like him led them to disobey his command not to eat from the fruit from the tree of good and evil. Prior to their sin, they had everything they could ever want. They were well provided for and had no need to toil. After the fall, all sins came about. The mother of all sins is pride. It centers on the “self” rather than others. A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body but jealousy is like cancer. It poisons and kills.
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PRAYER
Lord, deliver me from jealous people.
REFLECTION
How do you know that you or someone you know manifests jealousy or envy?
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
PRIDE IS A BEAST Poem Devotional
February 7________________________________________
The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck strikes terror wherever it goes. Nothing on earth is its equal. No other creature so fearless. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of beasts. – Job 41:22,33-34(NLT)
PRIDE IS A BEAST
A poem and essay by ILMA
Who claims that they know it all?
If you do, you are bound to fall
Who can ever question God’s power and infinity
Only the proud questions his greatness and validity.
Pride is a beast that can attack all of us
It is a spirit that blocks the ability to trust
It brings about a desire to be equal with the Lord
There is nothing or no one greater than Him in this world.
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Strong’s Concordance (3882, 3867) defines leviathan as a wreathed animal or a serpent. He is also called the constellation of the dragon, or Orion. Another word for leviathan means to twine, to unite and to remain. Again we are reminded of his serpentine nature and that he is a strongman. A word which occurs six times in the Old Testament and comes from a root word which means to bend or twist. It means literally wreathed; like a wreath; to be wreathed; gathering itself in folds.
Job 41 talks about the spirit of leviathan which is the spirit of pride. Leviathan is described as strong, fearless and very proud. He is the king of beasts. ________________________________________
PRAYER
Lord, help us to cast out the spirit of pride in our hearts.
REFLECTION
Have you been delivered from the spirit of pride? Share your testimony.
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
WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES Poem Devotional
August 7
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What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.
-Isaiah 5:21(NLT)
WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES
A poem and essay by ILMA
Do you consider yourself wiser than others?
Do you put down others and think you know better?
What sorrow for those who think they are clever
They will have trouble if they consider themselves smarter.
The Lord wants us to love others as ourselves
He wants us to respect them and not focus on the “self”
Do not be haughty and think you are the best
Or you will be humbled and put into a test.
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There are many people who put so much pride in their knowledge and wisdom. They think that it came from them. They remove God in the equation. I used to be this way, until the Lord showed me that it was foolish do think that I was wiser or smarter than others. We are all made differently with different strengths and weaknesses. The Lord made us the way we are so we can complement others. Our weaknesses can be others’ strength and vice versa. When we compare ourselves with others, we question what God has created. He made us all equal in his eyes, who are we to question that. The bible says that those who think they are wise in their own eyes will have sorrow.
PRAYER
Lord, let me never be haughty but treat others as I would treat myself.
REFLECTION
What do you think is the result of arrogance or pride?
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 PLEA FOR HUMILITY Poem Devotional
October 20________________________________________
O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.
-Ezra 9:15 (NLT)
A PLEA FOR HUMILITY
A poem and essay by ILMA
Lord, you are most powerful, most merciful
You are awesome in mercy and always faithful
I am nothing compared to your greatness
I am but a remnant of people who were lawless
Forgive me and let me stand in your presence
Give me wisdom so I can turn from disobedience
Give me a humble heart so I can understand your word
Grant me strength and courage to overcome this world.
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What is the solution to all the conflicts in our world today? Why are there so much lawlessness in our society? One of the causes of strife is pride. It is probably why the church considers it the gravest of all the deadliest sins. Pride is defined as arrogance, cynical insensitivity to the needs of others, and presumption. Pride is both a disposition, an attitude and a type of conduct. Pride is the cause of many if not all sins. Pride caters to the “self”. It is a form of idolatry because it seeks to glorify its own.
The bible talks about the people of God who lawlessly disobeyed his command not to intermarry. Because of pride, they disobeyed and reaped the consequences of sin.
PRAYER
Lord, protect me from pride.
REFLECTION
What prideful things have you done in the past that brought you to your knees to God?
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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