Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 62

Tuesday after Advent 2

Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

These beautiful words, in the King James Version that I memorized as a child, tell us of the coming of Jesus. They predicted his birth as a tiny baby—born as one of us. They also foretell His Second Coming, when he rule forever and ever. That small infant will come again as the mighty God! Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.

Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to earth as a human like us to pay the penalty for our sins so that when He comes again we will rule with Him forever and ever. In His name. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/justinkendra

Monday after Advent 2

Micah 5:2

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago,

From the days of eternity.”

God doesn’t do anything on a whim. Everything is done is planned and done for a reason. From “long ago” and from “the days of eternity,” He planned for Jesus to be born in the tiny village of Bethlehem. When a royal baby is born in a monarchy, the birth occurs in a prestigious place with much pomp and ceremony. But the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Savior of the world was born in a manager in a tiny place of no consequence, proving that God judges value and consequence on a different scale from the one humans use.

Lord, we human beings, Your created creatures, look with favor on the large and impressive, but You chose the small, the mundane, the unimpressive for the birth of Your Son. Give me Your sense of value, Lord, so I judge by Your standards and not by human standards. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Second Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 40:5

Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

And all flesh will see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

When the glory of the Lord is revealed when Jesus comes again, everyone will see it together. That is a promise from God. Those who are eagerly awaiting Jesus’s return will be joyful; those who have rejected God and face eternal punishment will greet His coming with fear. I want to be prepared and waiting for Him when He comes.

Lord, we have Your promise that everyone will see the glory of the Lord. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I look forward to seeing Your glory in Heaven throughout eternity. Maranatha, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Saturday after Advent 1

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

God used His prophet to tell His people about the coming birth of Christ centuries before it happened. Nothing is a surprise to God and nothing happens on a whim. He knows everything that has happened and everything that ever will happen, and it is all part of His perfect plan. Often we don’t understand His plan, but we can be sure that it is good.

Thank You, Lord, that we know the end of the story. Just as You told the Israelites about the coming of Jesus long before it happened, You have told us of the Second Coming of Jesus far in advance. We don’t know when He is coming again, but we know He will come. And when He comes, it will be in Your perfect timing. Make us ready, Lord, for that glorious day. In His name. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/jamesgroup

Friday after Advent 1

Psalm 2:7

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.”

God Himself spoke of Jesus as His son, and the psalmist says he will tell of this decree. The news about Jesus is too good to keep to ourselves. We should be sharing it with everyone we know. Often we’re reluctant to talk about our faith. However, if we truly believe that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God and that belief is Him is the only way to be saved from eternal damnation, we will want to tell everyone we know or come in contact with.

Thank You, Lord, for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. Impress that upon my heart and mind so much that I feel compelled to share this with everyone I know. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/elvinstar

Thursday after Advent 1

Genesis 3:14-15

The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

Cursed are you more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you will go,

And dust you will eat

All the days of your life;

And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

God cursed the devil, the serpent, for leading Eve into temptation. He took away whatever legs the serpent had and made it slither on its belly on the ground, eating dust. And he made the serpent and mankind enemies. Clearly, God does not want His people led astray. The devil still tempts us today, but we don’t have to succumb to his wiles. We can and should put on the armor of God and stand firm against the Enemy.

Forgive me for all the times I fall for the Enemy’s lies, the times I choose my own selfish desires instead of Your perfect will. Thank You that I can come to You to ask forgiveness and You will forgive. But I’m also asking that You empower me by Your Holy Spirit to put on Your armor and stand against the Enemy. Make me strong in You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday after Advent 1

Psalm 104:1-4

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,

Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;

He makes the clouds His chariot;

He walks upon the wings of the wind;

He makes the winds His messengers,

Flaming fire His ministers.

The magnitude of God is beyond our human comprehension. Not only is He clothed in splendor and majesty, but He is so powerful that He can walk on the wings of the wind and make the winds and flaming fire His messengers and ministers. His glory shines so brightly that Moses had to cover his face after standing before the Lord because just being in the presence of God made Moses’ face shine so brightly the Israelites were afraid to look at it. Imagine how much more God’s glory shines! Let us worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Lord God, You are so great we can’t even begin to realize how great You are. We worship You. We praise You. We glorify You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/stocksnapper

Tuesday after Advent 1

Isaiah 11:2-3

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and strength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,

And He will not judge by what His eyes see,

Nor make a decision by what His ears hear.

Centuries before Jesus came to earth the prophet Isaiah, inspired by God, described what Jesus would be like. He doesn’t judge by what He sees or make decisions by what He hears because He has the wisdom and understanding of God. Even though He is God incarnate, He delights in the fear of the Lord—and so should we. Fear in this context means reverential awe, not dread or terror. God, the almighty, omnipotent, omniscient Creator of the Universe deserves our reverential awe.

Lord, let us be more like Jesus, especially in having a reverential awe of You. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/MKucova

Monday after Advent 1

Psalm 89:3-4

“I have made a covenant with My chosen;

I have sworn to David My servant,

I will establish your seed forever

And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

Centuries before Jesus came to earth, God made a covenant with David to establish his throne for all generations. That promise will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again. He will rule the nations forever and ever. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, by choice or not. Although everyone will acknowledge His kingship, only those who accepted Him and worshiped Him on earth will reign will Him in glory forever and ever. Now is the time to bow our knees and confess His Lordship.

Lord God, I acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the Son of David who will reign the nations throughout eternity. Glory and honor to Him forever and ever. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/lipmic

The First Sunday in Advent

Hebrews 5:1–14

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You”;

just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Jesus is our great high priest who offered Himself once and for all as the sacrifice that is the source of our eternal salvation. Unlike earthly priests, He is perfect—free of sin, without blemish. We are stained and dirty with sin, but Jesus took our sin upon Himself and paid the ultimate price. He died that we might live. He washed away our sins with His precious blood.

Thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our great high priest—without beginning and without end. He is the perfect sacrifice—without sin or blemish. You are a just God and demand punishment for sin, but instead of punishing us—who so justly deserve it, You laid our punishment on Jesus. Let us partake of solid food of the oracles of God so that we learn to discern good and evil. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.