Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 40

Devotion for Saturday after Passion Sunday

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” ~ John 11:45-56

The Jewish leaders knew that they could lose their power if enough people followed Jesus. They weren’t interested in the truth, but only in their own position. How many people and leaders in the Church today are more interested in their own comfort, success, and power than in sharing God’s Word? Churches that preach anything other than the truth of the Bible have put something else ahead of Jesus. May we always teach the truth, even if it is to our own detriment.

Lord God, in today’s politically correct society, it is becoming more difficult to be a Bible-believing Christian. We are called intolerant and some of us are losing our livelihoods if we stand against evil. Empower me by the Holy Spirit to always put You first, to proclaim the truth of the Bible, and to stand firm for my faith. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Friday after Passion Sunday

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” Many believed in Him there. ~ John 10:31-42

The Jewish religious leaders were so self-righteous that they couldn’t see the truth that Jesus was the Messiah. They followed traditions and man-made laws more than they followed God. Do we get so attached to theology and traditions that we learn from others that we can’t see the truth?

Lord God, may I always be in Your Word, verifying that what I’m told conforms to the truth in Scripture. Jesus is coming soon. Let me be ready for His return and recognize the signs as they appear. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Devotion for Thursday after Passion Sunday

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. ~ John 8:51-59

With God, time and space don’t exist. He is limitless. He identified Himself to Moses as I AM, and Jesus (the Second Person of the Trinity) said that before the birth of Abraham, “I am.” God always was, is now, and always will be. Even more significantly, He is always the same. We change all the time, but God is forever.

Thank You, God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—that You are timeless, limitless, and changeless. I can’t comprehend the magnitude of You, Lord, and yet You want a close, personal relationship with every one of Your children, including me! I worship You now and always. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Wednesday after Passion Sunday

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. ~ John 8:31-42

In the US, we take pride in our freedom. Like the Jews who claimed they had never been enslaved, we proclaim liberty. But Jesus said that if we commit sin, we are slaves to sin. When I think about how often I sin, this is very bad news. But praise God—the Good News is that Jesus has set me free. I am no longer enslaved—I am free indeed. The precious Blood of Jesus has paid the price for my freedom.

Thank You, Lord, that Jesus has set me free, and I am free indeed. Even though I commit sins often, Jesus has paid the price for my sins—past, present, and future. I am now free to serve You and do Your will. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Devotion for Tuesday after Passion Sunday

Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. ~ John 8:21-30

The religious leaders were often offended when Jesus forgave sins and talked about being sent by His Father God. Yet they were also confused—what was He talking about? We have two thousand years of knowledge of who Christ is, yet how often are we confused and wonder what God is doing and why? Even if we can’t understand, even if it seems that God has abandoned us, even if we are lost and confused, God is still with us. In us, in fact. When we can’t understand, we can believe.

Father God, sometimes I get confused and wonder why some things happen that I think shouldn’t, and some things don’t happen that I think should. Help me to understand that I don’t need to understand. All I need to do is to believe that You are working all things for good to those who love You. You are with me—the Holy Spirit lives within me. Jesus died for me and is even now interceding for me next to You in Heaven. You are love, and You are good, and You are God. I trust You even when I don’t understand. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Devotion for Monday after Passion Sunday

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” ~ John 8:1-11

People, especially those who pick and choose what they believe in the Bible, love to quote this story to show God’s mercy. Rather, they like to quote this story without the last two sentences. They try to make a case that Jesus never condemned anyone or that he didn’t condemn adultery. However, they fail to acknowledge that He told her to go and sin no more. Praise God that He doesn’t condemn us—the weight of His condemnation would be too much for even the most righteous person. But the reason He doesn’t condemn us if we repent of our sins is that He Himself has paid the price for those sins.

Lord God, thank You that You don’t condemn me for my many sins because Jesus paid the full price in His precious blood for everything I have done. All I have to do is say “Yes” to Him. Yes, yes, yes, Lord! Jesus is my Lord and Savior. In His name I pray. Amen.

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Devotion for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Passion Sunday)

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. ~ John 11:1-45

We usually remember Thomas for his doubts; we even call him Doubting Thomas. But when Jesus told the disciples He was going to Judea where Jesus’ life was at risk, Thomas is the one who said, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” Was he declaring his willingness to die for Jesus, or was he being sarcastic? Whatever his intent, he, along with the other disciples, did go to Judea with Jesus and were with Him when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. God was, as always, in complete control. It was not time for Jesus to die, so He went to Bethany and raised Lazarus without any interference.

Father God, give me the willingness, courage, and endurance to walk with You wherever You lead. I want to be willing to live and die for You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Devotion for Saturday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.” Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you? No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” [Everyone went to his home.] ~ John 7:40-53

Even the officers didn’t seize Jesus because they recognized that there was never a man like Him before. Many people saw that Jesus was extraordinary, but they couldn’t agree on who He was. They certainly didn’t believe He was the Christ because He didn’t fit their expectations. How often do we miss a blessing because it doesn’t look like what we expect?

Lord God, sometimes the things that have turned out to be the greatest blessings in my life have looked like problems. I’ve tried to avoid them, but thank You that You didn’t let me. But perhaps I have missed other blessings and never known what I missed. Open my eyes to see the truth, even when it doesn’t fit my expectations. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Devotion for Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.

But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.

So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.” So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. ~ John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Though the religious leaders of the day were trying to kill Jesus, no one touched him because it was not time. At the appointed time, Jesus would be arrested, condemned, and crucified, but it was in the Father’s timing, not the timing of the people who carried out the deed. They thought they were in control, but the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were all part of God’s master plan from before the foundation of the world. He used evil men to carry out His will, evil men who thought it was all their plan.

Lord, I acknowledge that You are sovereign, even over those who don’t follow You. Your will is often surprising to us, and the way You carry it out is a mystery. But I don’t need to understand—I just need to know that You are in control, and whatever You will is good. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Devotion for Thursday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent

“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” ~ John 5:31-47

Scripture, the Law and the Prophets, foretold the coming of the Messiah. Jesus showed He was the Messiah by the works that the Father gave Him to do, yet the religious leaders and most of the people of Jesus’ time did not believe He was God Incarnate. Jesus Himself and the Word of God tell us that He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Too many people today don’t believe that—or at least they live like they don’t believe it. They don’t expect judgment for the way they have lived their lives, yet that judgment is surely coming.

Lord God, I know that Jesus is coming again in glory. He will judge everyone—living and dead—and determine their eternal home. I believe that He is Your Son, and I confess my sins. He is my Lord and Savior, and I look forward to living in Heaven with You forever. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.