Bible

PREPARE YOUR HOPE PT. 2

/ joseph elon lillie / 3 Comments

This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

Each of the seven prepare statements will be broken down into three brief devotionals each over 21 weeks. We are currently on week 17.

WEEK 17- Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Jesus said, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45

The reason it is necessary to change our minds towards hope may be self evident. A life filled with thoughts of hope is preferable to a life filled with hopelessness, but changing the way we think is only a part of the battle. What we think only changes us not the world around us. If we would change the world around us we must speak the change and act the change. What we say is vitally important to changing the world.

The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Prov. 18:21

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.  Rev. 12: 10,11

WHAT WORDS DO YOU NEED TO START SPEAKING INTO YOUR WORLD TO CHANGE IT TOWARDS HOPE?

Prepare Your Hope Pt. 1

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year our church has been given direction from God that we are to fast and pray that we would be prepared. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I am breaking these seven prepare statements into 21 weekly devotionals. This is week 16.

Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).

Photo by vi Media on Pexels.com

Hope is not a wish. It is a confident assurance in a certain future. It is big picture thinking. Our hope is not in this present age. Our hope is not in this present kingdom. Our hope is not in this present culture. Our hope is in the sure and certain future Jesus has promised us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.JOHN 3:16,17

the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 PETER 3: 10-18

To think hope means to contemplate the coming of this future kingdom. It means to put away thoughts that get us stuck in this present time of trouble and turmoil.

WHAT DOES THINKING IN HOPE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

NOT BUSY

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

This was one of my meditations yesterday.

When I thought about it yesterday I thought this statement was only about the need to stop being busy and the need to slow down life.

Tonight I walked into the church feeling tired from the day and my friend Jody, who was practicing the keyboard asked me how my day had been…. My first reaction and what I said to him was, ” It was busy!”

I immediately felt guilty not because I thought it was untrue but because I thought I should think differently about today because of yesterday’s meditation. I am realizing it is going to take more than a “hot minute” to turn that ship around, because of what “I’m busy” really says.

I think that part of the issue is that “busy” has become a placeholder and shield to hide what I really think about the day. It’s easy and non committal to say “busy”. Everyone can agree with that and nod their head and still not understand one iota of how a person is doing. We’ve been taught to like it that way.

What I should have said instead was “brutal”….”difficult”….”gut-wrenching”… or “It made me want to cry”.

Sometimes when I say “I’m busy” what I really mean is “productive”….”Exciting”…”a battle I won but which exhausted me.”

I am beginning to see that “I’m busy” means nothing, says nothing. Everyone is busy and no one wants to talk about what is making us that way because that would cause us to take down the walls that we have built between ourselves and expose ourselves to a level of discomfort our society has taught us we need in order to protect ourselves.

Our church is doing this thing we call “DOING LIFE TOGETHER”. I am beginning to realize that there are catch phrases I use in my communication which actually cause me not to do life together with people. “I am busy” is one such.

WHAT ARE COME OF THE THINGS YOU SAY TO PUT OFF ACTUAL CONVERSATION WITH PEOPLE?

PREPARE YOUR WITNESS PT. 2

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

In 2024 God has given us direction that we are to fast and pray that we would be prepared. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I have broken these seven prepare statements into 21 daily devotionals which I am posting here on Mondays. This is week 14.

Photo by George Dolgikh on Pexels.com

DAY 14: Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example).

Last week we talked about earning the right to speak by building relationships with the people all around us. We talked about being an example of Jesus love to all men. The easiest way to build relationships and share our example is according to our gifts. “Gifts” is what the Bible calls them. In today’s terms we would probably use the words “personality traits” instead of the word “gifts”. We are not talking about talents or abilities like guitar playing or being good at football. We certainly aren’t talking about Christmas presents or birthday presents. We are talking about our character traits.

We will build relationships easily when we build them while going with the grain of our character. Let’s talk about the 7 most prominent “gifts” or “personality/ character traits.”

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12: 6-8

The Prophet’s personality- is focused on what goes on under the surface. They are sensitive to people’s emotions and spiritual conditions. Prophet’s should focus on building relationships out of their empathy and desire to see people grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Prophets love to sit and have deep conversations based on feelings and thoughts. They love helping people bring context to their feelings.

The Servant’s Personality– is focused on helping. “How can I help?” is the servant’s natural and desired first response. The servant builds relationship by helping people where they need it. It is often what they do not what they say that causes people to know and love them.

The Teacher’s personality– is focused on helping people acquire knowledge. The teacher builds relationships best with people who want to learn. Teachers do well when they are helping someone discover something new in life.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANY OF THESE “GIFTS”? IF NOT DO NOT WORRY THERE ARE MORE GIFTS TO COME.

PREPARE YOUR WITNESS PT. 1

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year God has given our church direction that we are to prepare. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

These seven prepare statements will be broken down into 21 devotionals which I will share over 21 weeks. This wee we are on.

DEVOTIONAL NUMBER 13: Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). 

In the days ahead our Christian example will be such an important part of our witness it will far outweigh our words. 

Preparing our witness is going to involve us earning the right to speak by treating the people around us…all the people around us, in such a way that they will be convinced that our message bears weight. This involves loving…truly loving the people God is calling us to.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Cor. 13:4-7

PREPARE FOR THE STORM PART 3

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I am breaking down these seven prepare statements into three daily devotionals which I am sharing on Mondays for twenty one weeks. This is week number 12.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM (PRAY FOR ACTION PLANS, PRAY FOR A SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE)

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava on Pexels.com

In this final devotional thought about preparing for the storm let’s finish our pass by of Matthew 24.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Ma. 24:3-14

The storm ahead will involve great upheavals in nature and the economies of the world. It will be an increasing softening of the strength of nations to set up the world for the coming of anti-Christ. In the midst of that softening the gospel and those who carry it will become increasingly unpopular. In all of this our job does not change. We must bear witness to the truth of Jesus.

PRAY FOR THE ABILITY TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE GOSPEL IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM PT. 2

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Our church has been given a seven part statement for 2024, through the congregational gift of prophecy. We are calling this statement the congregational sentence for 2024. It reads: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I am breaking these seven prepare statements 21 devotional which will be posted on Mondays throughout the year. Here is our eleventh devotional of the series.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT # 11: PREPARE FOR THE STORM (PRAY FOR ACTION PLANS, PRAY FOR A SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE)

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

What else do we know for sure about the coming storm that will help us prepare?

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Ma. 24:3-14

The storm ahead will bring many false belief systems and false hopes of salvation outside of Jesus Christ. We must be prepared for this, and hold onto the truth that Jesus is the only way, the only truth the only life. No one will come to the Father or eternal life, but through Him.

The storm ahead will be a time of large scale war and conflict across the Earth. Mankind cannot establish peace. Only God can do that. As mankind allows less and less room for God in the public arena conflict can only escalate. We must in the midst of this storm become what Jesus called, in Matthew 5, a peacemaker. 

PRAY THAT IN THE DAYS AHEAD GOD WOULD HELP US AS A CHURCH TO BE A COMMUNITY THAT KEEPS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AT ITS CENTER AND A COMMUNITY THAT CREATES PEACE IN THE MIDST OF GROWING CONFLICT.

PREPARING OUR HOMES PT. 2

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

As 2024 began The Lord gave Cornerstone Church a directive we are calling the congregational sentence. It reads: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

Over the course of the next several weeks these seven “prepare statements” will be broken down into 21 weekly devotionals. This is devotional number 8 in our series. It is entitled,

Prepare your infrastructures (your structures, infrastructures and plans)

Photo by Laura Tancredi on Pexels.com

There is a certain sense, when we talk about preparing our structures that we understand we are talking about very practical activities. We understand it means to clean our bathrooms before company arrives. It means to stock up on some extra groceries in expectation of guests. We can even understand the very practical nature of preparing our hearts to be more intentionally welcoming when guests arrive at our church door(make sure you introduce yourself to the new people). But what does to mean to prepare our infrastructures? What even is an infrastructure?

Infrastructure-the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities of a community.

In community/ church life there are three kinds of Infrastructures we are concerned with preparing:

1. SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE- THESE ARE OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS. IN PREPARING THESE WE ARE STRENGTHENING THE CONGREGANTS HEART OF GENEROSITY AND THE LEADERSHIP SYSTEMS CONCERNING STEWARDSHIP OR GIFT MANAGEMENT. AS WE PREPARE WE CONFRONT THE STRONGHOLDS OF POVERTY, SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND ENTITLEMENT. 
2. HARD INFRASTRUCTURE-
THESE INCLUDE OUR CHURCHES FACILITIES, ACCESS AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS. 
HOW EASY IS IT FOR OUR PEOPLE TO GET INTO AND OUT OF THE CHURCH BUILDING? HOW EASY IS IT FOR NEW PEOPLE TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND THE BUILDING? 
WHAT IF A PERSON CANNOT DRIVE OR HAS NO CAR? CAN THEY COME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY? CAN THEY COME TO YOUR DLT GROUP? HOW?
HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE IMPORTANT NEWS IN OUR CONGREGATION? IS OUR METHOD EFFECTIVE?
3. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE- THESE WE WILL DEFINE AS OUR EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. HOW DO WE FUNCTION IN AN INTERNAL EMERGENCY? HOW DO WE RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY A COMMUNITY WIDE EMERGENCY?
WHAT ARE OUR SECURITY PROTOCOLS?
SHOULD OUR COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE SOME SORT OF DISASTER ARE WE PREPARED TO INTENTIONALLY HELP? HOW?

IN LIGHT OF THESE QUESTIONS WHAT QUESTIONS COME UP IN YOUR HEART? WHAT ARE YOU PRAYING FOR TODAY CONCERNING OUR INFRASTRUCTURES?

Steadfast Sons

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Our church is comprised of small groups of people we call Doing Life Together Groups. Each group is encouraged to

STUDY THE BIBLE TOGETHER/ TO PRAY TOGETHER/ TO FELLOWSHIP AND BUILD DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER/ AND TO MEET NEEDS IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.

One of our “DLT” groups is a group of men called The Steadfast Sons. This year they chose to minister to the greater community of men in our church though and event called “BE A GODLY MAN”.

About 40 men from 8 different DLT groups showed up for breakfast lunch and five breakout sessions

Andy Ross and Stephen Sandoval were our co facilitators in Doing Life Together for the day.

Here are some of my take aways from the day.

BOYS CANNOT CONFER MANHOOD ON THEMSELVES. MEN NEED TO CONFER MANHOOD ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF MEN.

WORRY IS ANTI-PRAYER.

JESUS NEVER OFFERED US A COMFORTABLE LIFE. THERE WILL BE CHALLENGE AND PAIN.

YOUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT OTHER PEOPLE. TROUBLE IS ALWAYS CENTERED IN THE SPIRIT REALM FIRST AND FOREMOST.

MEN MUST CONTINUALLY “GOSPEL” THEMSELVES ACCORDING TO EPHESIANS 6.

THERE ARE NO CHUBBY BREASTPLATES IN THE ARMOR OF GOD. THE ARMOR MAKES US FIT AND ENCOURAGES US TO STAND IN THAT FITNESS.

THE ARMOR SHOULD MAKE US FILL THE WORLD AROUND US WITH PEACE.

THE ARMOR OF GOD IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN LINKED WITH A BAND OF BROTHERS.

PRAY THE WORD NOT JUST THE NEED.

Our men had a great day of fellowship together. I was greatly blessed by all the relationship building I saw going on.

In our final sessions I got a few more thoughts to think about.

STRONG MEN ARE SABBATH MEN. ADAM RESTED FOR WORK NOT FROM IT. REST IS FOUND IN JESUS NOT IN “REST”.

GOD LONGS FOR US TO BE IN RHYTHM NOT NECESSARILY IN BALANCE.

GOD HAS CALLED US TO PERSEVERE.

GOD HAS CALLED US TO HUMILITY AND SUBMISSION

GOD HAS CALLED US TO SERVE.

It was a great day of worship, spiritual reminders and challenges, fun, and fellowship.

THANK YOU ANDY AND STEPHEN!

PREPARING COMPASSION PT. 1

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year our church is focusing on seven prepare statements we are calling our 2024 congregational sentence.

“Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

PREPARE YOUR SOULS TO PRACTICE AND FEEL COMPASSION.

Jesus was known as a man of compassion. Compassion is the movement of concern, love, pity. It is an emotion that results in action. Kind actions devoid of the emotions of concern, love and pity are not compassion. Further feeling concerned or loving or pitying without doing something as a result of those emotions is also not compassion.

Jesus did the things He did because He loved people and He pitied their condition. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9: 36

We must be like him!

WHAT ARE YOU PRAYING MORE FOR, COMPASSIONATE FEELINGS OR COMPASSIONATE ACTIONS TO FOLLOW THROUGH?