June 23
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PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON
A poem by ILMA
One day Paul and Silas were going down to the place of prayer
They met a slave girl who had a spirit that made her tell the future
She earned a lot of money for her masters by doing fortune telling
She shouted to the crowd “These men of God will tell you how to be saved.”
This went on for days until Paul got so annoyed and turned to the demon in her
“I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her” was Paul’s words
And then it left her but her masters were angry and dragged the apostles and said
“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!”, they shouted to the officials.
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas and they were beaten and imprisoned
The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape and their feet were clamped
The prisoners heard Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns to God about midnight
Suddenly, a massive earthquake shook the prison to its foundations and doors opened.
Chains of every prisoner fell off and the jailer woke up to see prison doors wide open
He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself
Paul stopped him and reassured the jailer that they were all there and he was shocked
He fell down before Paul and asked the apostles what he needed to do to be saved.
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MEMORY VERSE
What must I do to be saved? – Acts 16:30
Read: Paul and Silas had been doing miracles while they preached the Good News of our salvation. It is amazing to hear them confront demons and they run away from them because of the presence of God’s Spirit in them. Those prisoners who witnessed God’s power in opening the prison doors and unchaining them must have turned them to God.
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REFLECTION
• What does it take for us to be able to bring people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
• Why was the fortune teller servant girl’s master angered when the girl’s demon was sent out of the girl?
Tag Archives: spoke word
ON PRESERVING GOD’S TEACHING Poem Devotional
September 12
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Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
-Isaiah 8:16(NLT)
ON PRESERVING GOD’S TEACHING
A poem and essay by ILMA
Do you seek the word of God each day?
Does the truth bring you to your knees to pray?
We are to preserve God’s teaching
He wants us to live it and keep on following.
Those who heed all of the Lord’s instructions
They will find favor and overcome temptations
Seek and be faithful to follow God’s word
You will find wisdom navigating this world.
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Why must we preserve the teaching of God? Because the word of God is alive. It is not just ordinary words. 2 Timothy 3:16 says Scripture is God-breathed and inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
What happens when we do not seek the word? We clearly do not preserve and spread it when we don’t even know the truth that will set us free. The enemy wants to ensure that we won’t pursue God’s teaching. He steals the word so that we won’t maintain a relationship with God. Satan hates relationships, so he destroys it. When we keep the truth alive, we are preserving God’s teaching.
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PRAYER
Lord, give me strength to pursue your truth.
REFLECTION
In your own little way, how can you preserve God’s teaching?
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