Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 30

Devotion for the First Sunday in Lent

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.” ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10

Two important things strike me about this passage. First, the Lord knows us before He formed us in the womb. He designed and planned us long before He created us. That means that every baby in the womb is a human life, created by God in His image, known and loved and made by Him for a purpose. Many other passages in Scripture tell us that abortion is wrong, but this is so powerful, how can anyone who identifies as a Christian support the killing of unborn babies? Second, if God gives us something to do, we don’t have to do it in our own strength. Just as He told Jeremiah He would be with him to deliver him, God will be us and deliver us in whatever He gives us to do. He put the words in Jeremiah’s mouth—He will put words in our mouth and give us strength and power to serve in whatever task He gives us.

Lord, millions of Your precious children are being killed by abortion. Forgive me for not being more active in stopping this abomination. Put the words in my mouth and give me the strength to stand up for these precious babies and help bring an end to legal murder. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Saturday after Ash Wednesday

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. ~ Deuteronomy 7:6-11

Just as the Lord loved His people Israel, today He loves His people—the Church. He called us to Him, not because of anything we have done, but because of His great love and His grace. He is faithful, even when we aren’t. He keeps His promises, even when we don’t. We are to obey His commands—love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls and love our neighbors as ourselves. If we love Him and others, we will be more like Him and keep His commands.

Lord God, thank You for loving me with a love beyond comprehension. I can trust You completely in every aspect of my life. All You ask of me is to love You and love others. If I do that, I will keep Your commandments. I want to love You above all, and I want to love my neighbor as myself. But I cannot do either without the Holy Spirit empowering me. Thank You that You give me the help to do what You command. Help me to always follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and love You and those around me. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Friday after Ash Wednesday

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. ~ Jonah 3:1-10

Nineveh was an evil city, and Jonah prophesied its destruction. The Ninevites deserved to be destroyed because they were so sinful. Yet when they heard the Word of the Lord, they repented of their evil, and God did not destroy them. If we read this passage in context, we learn that Jonah ran away from God because he didn’t want to prophesy to Nineveh. God pursued him, had him swallowed then spit out by a big fish, and compelled him to prophesy. When the prophecy was effective in leading the people of Nineveh to repentance, Jonah was angry. He didn’t want God to show mercy on these evil people. Yet God does not want anyone to perish. Today, all that is required to avoid destruction in hell is to repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A person can live an evil, selfish, and sinful life, but if he repents, turns to God, and accepts Jesus moments before death, he will be in Heaven with Christians who have been faithful for their entire lives. We can be like Jonah and resent that, or we can rejoice that everyone has a chance to be saved.

Lord God, thank You that those I love who have not accepted You still have a chance to repent and be saved. Draw them to You, Father, before it’s too late. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Thursday after Ash Wednesday

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
    and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
    that I might bless him and multiply him.
For the Lord comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
    her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.
“Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”
Awake, awake, put on strength,
    O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
“I, I am he who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made like grass,
and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord of hosts is his name.
And I have put my words in your mouth
    and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing the heavens
    and laying the foundations of the earth,
    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ~ Isaiah 51:1-16

God chose Abraham and his descendants as His people. He provided for them and multiplied them, not because they deserved it, but because He loved them. Today believers in Jesus are God’s people. He provides for us and multiplies us. We may have sorrow and suffering, but we will return with singing and everlasting joy. He comforts us, and we lack nothing. When we judge by earthly standards, we may think we lack because we don’t have the things that the world deems important. However, God provides our every need—not our earthly desires, but our eternal needs.

Thank You, Lord, that You provide for Your people everything we need. I worry and fret about the future, forgetting that it is in Your hand and that You will always provide. Open my heart and my eyes to recognize Your provision with gratitude and without worry. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Ash Wednesday

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. ~ Philippians 1:27-30

We want all the blessings that come from God, but Paul tells us in this passage (one of many with the same message) that we are to suffer for Christ’s sake. Jesus suffered terrible physical torture and death for us. But even more painful was His separation from God. For a brief time that must have seemed like forever, Jesus became sin—our sin, and the Father turned His face away. Nothing we will ever be asked for suffer will be remotely close to the pain Jesus suffered for us. The prosperity preachers may tell us that if we believe in Jesus, we will enjoy a life of health and wealth. However, that is opposite of what Scripture says. We must be prepared to suffer for our faith.

Father God, in my human frailty, I want to avoid suffering. Yet Jesus didn’t avoid suffering—He willingly suffered pain, death, and separation from You for my sake. Give me the willingness and strength and endurance to suffer whatever You have for me. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lenten Devotional

Lent is a season of penitence to prepare for Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6 this year, and runs for forty days (not counting Sundays) until Resurrection Sunday.

Many Christians give up something, like sweets or movies, for Lent. Others fast or abstain from meat on Fridays. Others add extra devotional time or Scripture reading or prayer. I give up my habit of reading an average of a novel a day, abstain from fiction, and read only Christian nonfiction during Lent.

I also add extra Bible reading and write my reflections on each day’s Scripture passages. The following year, I make those meditations available, both in a downloadable PDF document and in daily blog posts.

I invite you to read my daily devotions on my blog each day during Lent or to download Suffering and Salvation in a single file.

Each devotional includes a passage of Scripture (ESV), my meditation, and a prayer.

May these devotions bless you during Lent.

Love Is in the Air

On Valentine’s Day, we celebrate romantic love, but we can celebrate other kinds of love as well.

If we are very blessed, we love family (parents and grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren, cousins, aunts and uncles) and friends (old and new).

If we are Christian believers, we love our church family and spiritual leaders.

Above all, we love the Lord, Who first loved us and Who is love.

Whatever kind of love we feel and whoever we love, all love is from God.

Love is not an accident;
Man is not wise enough to plan it—
Therefore, it must be ordained of God.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~ 1 John 4:7-8

Image: © Depositphotos.com/Subbotina

New Reviews for Finding God in the Everyday

My devotional book, Finding God in the Everyday, was released more than a year ago, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive two new five-star reviews on Goodreads.

In “Finding God in the Everyday,” author Lillie Ammann proves herself to possess that rare combination in Christian writers—profound spiritual wisdom and unvarnished, deft common sense.

At first glance, “Finding God” appears to be a cozy, comfortable read in a series of devotions—and it is that—but, one should not be fooled by that apparent simplicity. Each chapter presents a cold, painful reality that life in the “everyday” may be fraught with pain–a house fire destroying her family home, a wayward son who ends up in prison, a criminal assault in her place of business, and lastly a devastating stroke in mid-life. Yet all these are recounted in a manner which is calm, matter of fact, lacking any hint of self-pity, and ultimately triumphant, through her strong faith in Jesus Christ. And even suffused throughout, it must be noted, with good-natured humor.

The overriding message here is of the promise of Romans 8:28, to make “all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 

If you are looking for a work to encourage and deepen your faith, and yes, even to inspire you in the hard times, this little book will more than fulfill the promise of the title.

Thanks to Nancy S for the above review.

While reading, Finding God in The Everyday, my emotions were fluid. One minute, I was crying because the author had experienced and overcame many adversities during her childhood and adult life. As a result, one minute I was crying; the next, I was thanking God for his mercy; then I was laughing at the author’s ability to move through various hardships to reach points in her life, that propelled her forward to share her experiences in order to inspire others.

Thanks to Edith Eveon Brown, Author, for this review.

Remembering God When all Else Is Lost

The article “‘What If I Forget About God?’ – A Surprising Look at Dementia and Religion” brought back a special memory to me. The article points out that a common fear among both dementia sufferers and their loved ones is that the person losing their memories of everything in their life will also forget about God. The article reassures us that while a dementia patient may not be able to express their memories and feelings about God, they never forget the Lord if they have loved and served Him.

Jack was hospitalized but expected to come home the next day. Our priest was leaving from a visit, and as Father Chip got to the door, Jack’s breathing pattern suddenly changed. Father Chip turned around and came back into the room. Although Jack was not expected to die soon, Father Chip recognized the breathing pattern characteristic of people near death.

He said, “Jack, you’re fixing to take a trip. Are you ready? Got your bags packed?”

Jack said, “I’m ready.” He cocked his head toward an empty chair by the bed. “God’s been sitting there in that chair talking to me about it,” he continued. “I’m ready.”

Jack did go home the following day, was home for a few days, then back in the hospital for a couple of days, then into a nursing home for a week while our friend and helper got the house ready for a hospital bed and round-the-clock nursing. He came home late Wednesday evening and entered home hospice the next day. Hospice staff gave me information about end-of-life and dying, pointing out that Jack was expected to live three or four months.

Sunday morning, I once again heard that death rattle in his breathing, and in a few minutes, he breathed his last.

I’m convinced that not only did Jack remember God, but that he was closer to Him that he had ever been before. I don’t know if he actually saw anything, but I know he felt God’s comforting presence and love.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/Vaicheslav

Twenty-Seven Years Ago…

On January 22, 1992, I walked into a chiropractor’s office for a neck manipulation for a migraine. I was carried out after suffering a stroke, although I didn’t know it was a stroke until several hours later. Although I thank God every day for all my blessings, I am always especially grateful on this day that I am still alive and functional, as the initial prognosis wasn’t good. You can read about my stroke and recovery in a series of three blog posts.

After my initial recovery, I wrote a romance novel about a woman who had a stroke similar to mine. The heroine in Stroke of Luck  experienced the same symptoms as I did with a rare Wallenberg Syndrome stroke, and many of her experiences are things I went through. Although my husband and I had been married for twenty-five years in real life and the heroine met her hero after her stroke in the book, Jake was patterned in many ways after my husband Jack, who cared for me during my recovery.

Everyone should be familiar with the symptoms of stroke, as a delay in treatment is always dangerous. In A Tale of Two Strokes, I show the difference between my stroke, when there was a delay of several hours before I reached the hospital, and my husband’s stroke, in which he received treatment at the earliest signs.