Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 110

Scripture for Friday after the First Sunday in Advent

Genesis 28:10-17 (ESV)

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Almighty God, we know You are in church when we attend services, but we don’t always remember that You are everywhere. Jacob encountered You in an unexpected place, and we may encounter You in our work and our play when we least expect it. Keep us alert and expectant to feel Your presence wherever we encounter You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

photo by:


KitAy

Scripture for Thursday after the First Sunday in Advent

Genesis 45:4-8 (ESV)

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Heavenly Father, so often when something bad happens, we wonder why You allowed us to occur. We see only the immediate situation and don’t know Your plan for us that is always for our good. Help us to recognize that what seems bad to us at the time is part of Your perfect plan and will work together for good to all of those who love You. Open our hearts to accept those things we don’t understand, knowing that we will fully understand one day when we stand before You. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

photo by:


KitAy

Scripture for Wednesday after the First Sunday in Advent

Exodus 3:1-12 (ESV)

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Dear God, when You call us, too often we are like Moses. We make excuses that we aren’t ready for such an assignment. We are not strong enough or educated enough or well-known enough or smart enough or ….. enough. Yet we know how You were with Moses to perform miracles through him and to lead the people to Your Promised Land. Intellectually, we know that You will prepare us for any task you give us, but our weak human nature still fears failure or ridicule. Remind us, Lord, that when You call us, You give the ability of doing whatever You have called us to do. We don’t need to be strong or educated or well-known or smart. You work through us, with our frailties and weaknesses. Help us to trust You and not fear anything You call us to do. In Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture for Tuesday after the First Sunday in Advent

Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16 (ESV)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Lord, what You promised to Abraham and Sarah was physically impossible, but nothing is impossible to You. What You promise You deliver. All we have to do is trust You and believe Your promise. But sometimes, Lord, we look at Your promises with our human eyes and we think “it’s impossible.” Help us understand Your almighty power and to trust Your most holy Word. You deliver on Your promises far more than we can imagine. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Giving Tuesday 2013

We’ve had Black Friday, when people push and shove and knock each other down trying to get a bargain. We’ve had Cyber Monday, when people sit home at their computers and overload servers and slow down the Internet trying to find a bargain. Both days focus on getting people to spend as much money as possible on as many products as possible, all in the name of Christmas giving.

Christmas isn’t about conspicuous consumption. It’s not about spending money for frivolous gadgets and gee-gaws to keep up with the neighbors or to fulfill the materialistic wishes of kids and adults. Christmas is about a little baby born in a manger—a tiny baby that grew into the man who gave His life on the cross to save us from our sins. He is worthy of our gifts, and giving gifts to our loved ones as symbols of gifts to Him is totally appropriate. However, when that gift-giving leads to shopping frenzies in which people can be injured, when those gifts become symbols of selfish greed, when Christmas becomes all about gimme, gimme, gimme…that’s the polar opposite of what Christmas should be all about.

Today is a day to give in the true meaning of Christmas. Giving Tuesday is a day to focus on helping others—volunteering and donating to charitable organizations. It’s a time to teach children the importance of helping those in need. It’s a time to slow down the frantic pace of shopping and decorating and partying and to think beyond our family and friends. To recognize that not everyone has the same advantages we do and to share our money and/or time to help someone else.

If you already give generously, thank you. Be an example to someone who doesn’t give like you do. Share your favorite charity on social media and encourage others to give by sharing why you believe in the organization or cause. Invite a friend to go with you when you volunteer or encourage your neighbor to join with you to help make Christmas a little merrier for the family down the street whose parent/spouse has lost their job.

Giving cash is great—every nonprofit always needs money to fund its programs. But writing a check to a charity isn’t the only way to give. Use your talents to create items that charitable organizations need: warm blankets for needy families, storage shelves for a charity providing clothing for job seekers, hygiene kits for the homeless. Volunteer to work at a food pantry or homeless shelter. Bake cookies and deliver them with kids’ handwritten Christmas cards to lonely people in a nursing home or in your neighborhood. Participate in a Christmas gift charity, such as Angel Tree or Toys for Tots. Some of my best Christmas memories are of giving a Christmas party for abused women and their children and of  delivering Christmas gifts to needy children.

Look for a need that you can fill. I guarantee you won’t have to look far, and I promise you will enjoy giving to others far more than fighting the crowds or dealing with the Internet when most people are participating in the materialism of the season.

Since my health doesn’t allow me to volunteer as I have in the past, this year my giving will be limited to cash donations. This week, in addition to my normal giving, I’ve donated to Operation Christmas Child, the Salvation Army, and the Religious Freedom Coalition’s Christmas for Refugees (to provide a special Christmas dinner for children of Christian refugees from Syria).

Do you and your family make special contributions at Christmas? What are your favorite organizations or ways to give?

Scripture for Monday after the First Sunday in Advent

Genesis 6:13-22 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Lord, we honor Noah for hearing and responding to You, but sometimes we don’t hear Your voice when You speak to us. Perhaps we expect You to speak to us as in a conversation with another person, but You speak to us in many ways: Your Word, words of teachers and preachers, nudges of conscience, and ideas You plant in our minds. Help us to listen for Your voice and recognize when You speak to us, and carry out what it is that You would have us to do. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost now and evermore. Amen.

photo by:


KitAy

Scripture for The First Sunday in Advent

[image error]Today is the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Each Advent I follow a different Bible reading plan, and each year I post on my blog the Scriptures and prayers from my Advent readings from the previous year. I hope you will join me every day from today through Christmas for a brief moment of prayer and the Word of God.

Genesis 1:1-5 (ESV)

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Heavenly Father, at this season of Advent we recognize Your great power. You created the heavens and the earth from nothing but Your voice. We find it difficult to understand how very mighty You are. Your thoughts are so far above our thoughts and Your ways so far above our ways that it is beyond our comprehension. But even more amazing is why we are observing this Advent season: You loved us so much that You sent Your Son, of the same substance as the Father, to earth for our salvation. Help us to realize, O Lord, the magnitude of Your love for us—as great as the magnitude of Your endless power. As we prepare for Christmas, let us prepare for the Coming of Christ—in a manger in Bethlehem, in our hearts when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, and at the end of time to judge the world. Make us ready, O Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

photo by:


goforchris

Bane or Blessing? A Thanksgiving Perspective

Not long ago, I was talking with a friend who had recently been diagnosed with a serious autoimmune disease. My friend said, “Oh, but I shouldn’t complain. You’ve been through much worse. And if you can make it through what you have, I can surely make it through this.” I’ve heard this or something similar a number of times when someone has told me of a bad experience.

If anything I have experienced can serve as an encouragement to someone else going through a rough patch, I’m all for it. But I look at my life and see blessings instead of problems. Sometimes those were blessings in disguise, but blessings nevertheless.

On Thanksgiving, I give thanks for these blessings that God has so liberally bestowed upon me.

When people mention the hardships I’ve been through, they often mention my stroke at the hands of a chiropractor when I was 45 years old. I will confess it was difficult to regain the ability to sit up, re-learn how to walk, and to re-acquire basic skills. I still have poor balance and vision problems as a result of the stroke, limiting my mobility and ability to perform tasks requiring good vision. However, overall, more good than bad has come from the stroke.

First I was blessed to have so much support. I didn’t realize how much I was loved and cared for until I needed help, and everyone came through.

My husband Jack ran errands, took care of everything at home, made sure my business ran smoothly on a day-to-day basis, and arranged for my evening meal to be delivered to the dining room so we could have dinner together every day. After I was home from the rehab center, he also drove me back and forth to work every day and made whatever accommodations were needed at home and at the office/warehouse. He creatively solved problems, such as buying me a jeweler’s loupe that fit around my head to use as a magnifier so I could read. He was patient with me, but he pushed me when I was afraid to try something he thought I could do. Most of all, he never doubted that I would recover, and his faith encouraged me.

My sister Nancy did all the little things Jack didn’t recognize needed to be done or didn’t know how to do. She brought me personal items from home, washed my hair, and helped me with personal care when I couldn’t care for myself. She also worked as the maintenance manager in my interior landscape company; she and my brother Frank, who was installation manager, ensured that customers received plant service. My employees were wonderful—if Nancy, Frank, and my other employees had not continued to do excellent work, I could easily have lost my business. Although income decreased because of natural attrition coupled with the lack of new business since I was the only salesperson, the company remained viable throughout my illness.

My parents, extended family, and friends visited and called, sent cards and gifts, and encouraged me in numerous ways. My doctors and rehab team treated me like I was the only patient they had.

The stroke was one of the experiences that led me to accept my utter dependence on the Lord. I always saw myself as independent and self-sufficient. I thought I could solve my own problems, take care of my own needs. It was very humbling to lie in bed unable to move, talk, or do anything for myself. Even so, after I recovered, I needed another major lesson. I went through several years of myoclonic jerks (or seizures depending on which neurologist was talking). My left arm and leg flailed out uncontrollably and I made an involuntary sound that people often thought was “No” or “Oh.” My left side was cold all the time no matter what the temperature was, and over time the symptoms worsened so that I appeared to be having a stroke. Doctors couldn’t explain or treat the problem; I was even accused of “faking it” on one trip to the emergency room. There was no way I was in control—I had to accept God’s control of my life. Finally, I was healed by prayer.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7, NASB)

Ultimately, the stroke led to a career change. I had always dreamed of being a writer someday, maybe after I retired. However, after the stroke, I realized I didn’t know if would have that someday. I decided if I wanted to live my dream of being a writer, I’d better start. It took several months for me to reach the point that I could type again and that I was strong enough to work  at the computer on Saturdays, but as soon as I was able, I started on my first novel, Stroke of Luck.

I continued to operate my business for four more years while I wrote on the weekend. It was important for me to prove to myself that I could still run my business, and I wanted to build it back up from the loss of income during my absence. After I was ready to move on, it took a couple of years to find a buyer who would promise to retain our employees. We sold to a national company who could offer far better benefits than we could as an independent small business.

If it hadn’t been for the stroke, I would most likely have kept my business for many more years. Instead, I have been self-employed as a freelance writer and editor for seventeen years and have published a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction. I’m living my someday dream, and that might not have happened—it certainly wouldn’t have happened when it did—if it hadn’t been for my stroke.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NASB)

O MOST merciful Father, who of thy gracious goodness causes all things to work together for good to those who love thee, to those who are called according to thy purpose; We give thee humble thanks for this thy special blessing; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness unto us, that we may continue to love thee and answer thy call, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Adapted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer)

National Bible Week 2013

Thanksgiving week has been celebrated as National Bible Week for 72 years. Sponsored by the National Bible Association, National Bible Week has as its goal

to encourage everyone to read the Bible and raise awareness of the Bible’s importance and relevance to our nation as a whole, as well as in the lives of individuals.

This year’s theme is the secret is in the Book.

If you haven’t already developed the habit of reading the Bible every day, I encourage you to establish a Bible reading plan. You will find a variety of plans at Bible Gateway. You can choose to read the entire Bible in a year, the New Testament in a year, or a short-term plan for Advent or Lent. You have a choice of a number of translations.

I try to follow a different plan every year, both in the readings and the translation I choose. One of my favorite plans is reading the Chronological Bible in a year. Reading David’s Psalms in conjunction with what was happening in his life, for example, is very inspiring.

For someone who is new to regular Bible reading, I suggest beginning with the New Testament in a year. That will give you shorter daily readings and more time to meditate on what you read each day. The New American Standard Bible and the New International Version are good translations that are easy to read.

Another option is to read the daily readings in the Book of Common Prayer, which include a Psalm and readings from both the Old and New Testaments. You will cover a lot of the Bible in these short daily readings, but the language, while beautiful and majestic, is more difficult for modern readers to understand than more modern translations.

Whatever plan you follow, you will be greatly blessed by reading God’s Word daily.

National Adoption Month 2013

November is National Adoption Month. As someone who is passionately prolife, I support adoption is a viable option in lieu of abortion. As someone who has first-hand experience as an adoptive parent, I want all children to have a family of their own.

Below is a video with a powerful adoption message.