faith

PREPARE YOUR HOPE PT. 3

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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 these seven prepare statements into 21 daily devotional thoughts which I am sharing once a week. We are currently on…

WEEK 18- Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).

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We have established that thinking in hope and speaking hope in the days ahead is going to be absolutely necessary. But there is something more… James writes, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If we want to change ourself we must change how we view ourselves, how we think about ourselves. But if we want to change the world (which is part of our mission statement by the way) then we have to change the way we speak and change the way we behave.

WHAT ARE SOME ACTS OF HOPE YOU ARE BEING LED TO DO?

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).

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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?

NOT BUSY

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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. 3

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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).“

These seven prepare statements will each be broken down into three brief devotionals. We are currently on devotional number 15.

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

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We are being called to build relationships within our wider community. The easiest way to build those 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

Last week we talked about prophesying, serving and teaching. Let’s talk about the last four “gifts” today.

The Encourager’s personality- is focused on helping people reach their potential or achieve their personal goals. The encourager approaches life with a “can do” mentality. The encourager is an idea person who sees the steps between point A and point Z in a person’s life and he helps people to see what they can do to take those steps.

The Giver’s Personality– is focused on resourcing. The question the giver asks is “What do you need?” Not only does she try to find out what is needed, the giver is talented in finding the resources necessary and connecting those resources to the person who has the need

The Leader’s personality– is focused on building a team that will be able to accomplish the work ahead. They are good at laying plans and executing those plans, but he is not the ones who carry out the plans. Often the leader is not even the one who gets the credit. This type of leader prefers to work behind the senes as long as the ones he works with see him for who he really is. The first question he often asks is, “Who do we need to help us.” The leader is the organizational people mover of a community. 

The Mercy Giver’s Personality- The mercy giver is the healer of a community. Her first question is generally “How can I make this better or more comfortable for the people involved?” These are the folks who, when you are in trouble, will bring you a casserole and watch your kids while you take a much needed nap. Often the mercy giver looks just like a servant on the outside, but she differs in that the servant is only concerned with “Did I do something help?” The Mercy giver is concerned with “Did what I do make the person feel better?”

DO YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANY OF THESE “GIFTS”?

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

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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)

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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

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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)

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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.

UP…DOWN…STUNNED… NUMB…HOPEFUL….DISCOURAGED FROM ONE MINUTE TO THE NEXT

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On Thursday last week, Mom’s health took a stark turn. She woke with intense pain. She went through two bouts of shaking and then descended into unconsciousness. We were told she had days left to live.

Brenda and I together with all the kids prepared ourselves for our vigil with Mom over the Easter weekend. As the world faced Good Friday and looked forward to the Resurrection, we were facing our own very personal deathwatch. The themes of death and resurrection were very real to us as we prayed Mom through to eternity.

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I don’t know how it feels for anyone else to wait with someone who is walking in that space between life and death. I imagine it must feel different for everyone. For me the waiting was a tightening of my chest and a pressure behind my eyes. It felt like I was holding my breath underwater and my ears were filled with sound of the ocean for days.

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On Friday we received more bad news that our one remaining Uncle had a heart attack and was being life-flighted to UMASS Medical Center in Worcester Massachusetts. It was almost more than our hearts could bear as a family.

I have to say I am so grateful for a church family these days. So many congregants reached out to us during this time with prayers and with food (our refrigerator had no more room). Our deacons rose to the occasion for Uncle Tom, knowing that I could not leave my mother’s side for a five hour hospital trip. They visited Uncle Tom and his family at the hospital and prayed with them. On Easter Sunday as Brenda and I waited at mom’s bedside, my daughter Amanda opened the church service and my daughter Melanie led worship for Easter Sunday. One of our Deacons, Jody Clapp and our Church DLT Coordinator, Carrie Hackett preached the Easter Sunday sermon. Amanda officiated the Easter baptism.

We thought Sunday would be Mom’s day to leave us for Heaven, but she was not ready. At about 5 A.M. on Tuesday morning Mom finally entered Jesus’ arms.

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We got news that Uncle Tom was doing well and was expected to make a full recovery.

On Tuesday night I began to get sick. My body I guess had had enough of waiting and pressure and up and down. On Wednesday, my son’s birthday, Brenda commented that I looked very unwell. Truth be told I felt like I was hanging on by a thread. Thursday I was flat on my back for the entire day. What started as a cold turned into a stomach bug.

On Friday we got news that Brenda’s dog, Oliver, in The Netherlands, had eaten some poison and was at a veterinary specialist trying to save his life. Oliver went into renal failure this morning and needed to be put to sleep.

It has been a week of bad news, more bad news, Good news, more good news, bad news, good news and more bad news. To say that we don’t know how to feel, to say that we are stunned, numb, hopeful and discouraged is perhaps the most accurate description of our emotional state at the moment.

I stand at this moment on the shoulders of the Apostle Paul and declare, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

PREPARE FOR THE STORM PT. 1

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Over the course of the last year Cornerstone has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us. 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).“

We are currently doing a devotional series which breaks down these seven “Prepare statements” into bite sized pieces. Let’s begin talking about the next “prepare statement” on our list.

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

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I have already been asked a few times, what I think the storm we are to prepare for, is. Well I could give you my thoughts on the matter, but they would just be my thoughts. I have my ideas about how this storm might play out, but we aren’t tied to my ideas of what-ifs and wherefores. We have Scripture to tell us some specifics about the storm of the last days. Let’s take a look.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

We know the storm will take the form of a culture of: prideful selfishness, self- promotion, lovelessness, anger, backstabbing, violence, constant danger, short-sightedness and interested only in entertainment rather than the good of society. In short our current culture is the storm. It is a category two hurricane right now. It is intensifying. We have not seen the storm in its full glory yet.

How do we protect ourselves against this part of the storm? I think the following verses are among some of the most important verses in the Bible for the days ahead.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5: 22-26

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD GROW US IN EACH FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

HOPE IN RESURRECTION

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We continue to stand with Mom in the In Between place as she waits to walk into the embrace of Jesus.

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It has been a bit surreal walking through this year’s Holy Week with the spectre of death just around the corner every moment. At the same time the hope of resurrection has also been with us throughout the week.

We have been listening to Christian music exclusively since Thursday morning. No television shows. No news. Just worship. We are filling the house with the praises of our God to help Mom’s passing be one of “peace that passes all understanding”. Just today Brenda and I were listening to People and Songs and this song just really spoke. https://youtu.be/ed_pL2MDqNU?t=22

Today Amanda, James and Kristine took Lela, Cloddles and Sevy to see the Easter Bunny at our town’s Easter Egg Hunt.

You can’t tell these two are sisters can you?
My daughter Melanie dressed up as our town’s Easter Bunny…the kids had absolutely no idea.
Quite a haul.

Tomorrow Deacon Jody Clapp and DLT Director Carrie Hackett will be sharing the sermon for Easter in my absence. Melanie will be leading the worship and Pastor Amanda will be performing the baptism. Our life keeps moving forward, even in the face of death, because even death must bow before the hope of resurrection.

This is the hope our family is functioning in. As hard as this process is, we know this is not the end. It is just a transition.

These flowers came for Brenda today from her lifelong friend Barbie, to remind us that the world is full of color and that hope remains!