God

GRAMPA IN THE BONES

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I recently had an opportunity to attend a forum on minster’s health. I was struck by a statement that was made by the forum director. It resonated deeply with me.

YOU CAN HAVE JESUS IN YOUR HEART, BUT STILL HAVE GRAMPA IN YOUR BONES.

The idea is that even after receiving Jesus we all have strongholds. Paul the apostle wrote, ” For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5

I have been left wondering what strongholds were erected in my life simply because I was born into the family I was born into. But it is not just the negative things I am thinking about either. What advantages did my family of origin plant inside of me?

I am praying through that I might capitalize on the latter while tearing down the former.

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT ADVANTAGES COME FROM YOUR FAMILY OF ORIGIN THAT YOU CAN CAPITALIZE ON? WHAT STRONGHOLDS NEED TO BE TORN DOWN?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 3

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete. 1 JOHN 1:1-4

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Sharing your personal encounter with Jesus brings complete joy to the community of faith.

MY THOUGHTS:

One of the things I am working on in the new year is in collaborating with people in my congregation to share stories about how God is showing up in their lives. I realize my role in the Sunday morning service is to bring the “rightly divided Word of truth” from the Scripture, but the part of sharing testimony can and even should come from the congregation. The body of Christ needs to see how the “rightly divided Word of truth” works out in personal circumstances. I need to see that in my own life and the lives of those around me so that I can be encouraged all the more as I see the day of Lord drawing near. That day is close now I think.

WHAT STORIES ARE YOU SHARING TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF TOWARDS FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE LATELY?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS PT. 1

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John together. Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

DAY 1 -That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 JOHN 1:1

Your faith is built on the historical, physical reality of Jesus, not an illusion.

Jesus is not my subjective reality. He is not someone I made up in my mind like some imaginary friend. He is a historical figure. History attests to his life. History attests to His expanding influence and history attests to the millions of miraculous life transformations in His name. He is reality. His promise is sure. We can be sure what He said will come to pass.

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