God

21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER MEDITATION 10

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Welcome to the noon time meditation on the first day of our final week of Cornerstone’s 21 days of fasting prayer. We are on meditation number 10.

1 John 2:26-29

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

1 John 2:26-29 (Source: Equip the Called)Theme: The Anointing and Abiding
1. The anointing you received from Him (the Holy Spirit) teaches you all things and is real.
2. Abide in Him so that you may have confidence and not be ashamed at His coming.
3. Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him and reflects His character.

THINKING TIME:

  1. WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT TEACHING YOU TODAY?
  2. HOW DO YOU PRACTICE ABIDING OR CONTINUING IN THE SPIRIT?
  3. WHAT PART OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE YOU BEING LED TO PRACTICE TODAY?

21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER 2026 MEDITATION 9

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Well it’s the final countdown of our 21 days of fasting and prayer, but we are only on the ninth meditation of the fast. We are going to continue catching up throughout this final week of fasting. Please Join us in the meditations.

1 John 2:18-25

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[e] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

1 John 2:18-25 (Source: Equip the Called)Theme: Warning Against False Teachers
1. The presence of antichrists is a sign of the last hour; stay alert and grounded in truth.
2. Remaining in the teaching you heard from the beginning ensures you remain in the Son and the Father.
3. Denial of Jesus as the Christ is a denial of God the Father; confess the Son always

THINKING TIME:

  1. HOW DOES SOMEONE DENY THAT JESUS IS THE SAVIOR (THE CHRIST)?
  2. HOW CAN YOU REMAIN IN THE TEACHING THAT BROUGHT YOU TO CHRIST?
  3. WHAT ARE WAYS WE DENY CHRIST AND GOD THE FATHER?

21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER 2026 MEDITATION 8

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

We are now finished two weeks of our 21 day fast and prayer season for 2026. It haas been eye-opening and convicting to me. There is much that I will be thinking about and praying into over the next several months. I think I will be writing about some of the process God is working in me soon.

Here is our eighth meditation as we continue to catch up in the Book of 1 John.

1 John 2:15-17

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:15-17 (Source: Equip the Called)Theme: Do Not Love the World
1. The world’s desires (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life) are fleeting and pass away.
2. Doing the will of God is the only pursuit with eternal value; it abides forever.
3. Prioritize your eternal connection with God over temporary worldly allurements.

THINKING TIME:

1.What does it mean that the world’s desires are fleeting and passing away?

2. How does that help you too resist and reframe the world’s desires that you struggle with?

3. What is the will of God you know to do right now?

AND, Y’KNOW… THAT IS ENOUGH!

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I was in a conversation with a few members of my staff this morning. We were talking about the state of the world… trying to solve all the world’s problems I guess….not coming up with any good answers. It feels like parts of our world are burning down.

Photo by Anna Kester on Pexels.com

Then one of my assistant pastors said, “I was in prayer and meditation the other day and I got this word from God. God reminded me, ‘ You don’t belong here.’.”

That really encouraged me. I was reminded, in that moment, that I am not here to fix the world. The sense that this world is beyond fixing is correct. Peter said, “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Pet. 3:7

That encouragement got me thinking about what God is doing in my circle of influence. Here, in little Winchendon, I am seeing a strengthening of community. I am seeing an increase of ingenuity, invention and encouragement. People are coming to Jesus. People are learning to pray. People are being discipled. Our little corner of the world is changing for good. I see a growing potential and opportunity.

So if I cannot change the whole world what am I doing here? I am here to be a witness to the TRUE HOPE OF THE WORLD within my circle of influence.

Jesus said, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

I am here as an ambassador of another Kingdom which is yet to come. Paul the Apostle said, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Cor. 5:20

I am here to bring the comfort I have received to others. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Cor.. 1:3,4

I cannot change the whole world. I may not even be able to change any small part of it permanently, but I can tell people of a world that is not broken. I can tell them how to get there, and for the time I am here in this broken world I can bring comfort to the piece of the world I am dwelling in, even as it faces the fire that the rest of the world is being engulfed in.

AND Y’KNOW…THAT IS ENOUGH.

21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER 2026 MEDITATION 6

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HERE IS OUR AFTERNOON MEDITATION. AS WE SEEK TO CATCH UP WITH THE 21 DAYS OF MEDITATION, WE ARE ON DAY 12 OF OUR ANNUAL FAST FOR 2026. OUR CONGREGATIONAL MEDITATION IS IN THE BOOK OF 1 JOHN.

1 John 2:7-11

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b] is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

1 John 2:7-11 (Source: Equip the Called)Theme: The Old and New Commandment (Love)
1. The commandment to love one another is both old (from the beginning) and new (embodied in Christ).
2. Walking in love is walking in the light; hatred keeps you in darkness, stumbling aimlessly.
3. The true light is already shining, empowering you to live a life of love.

THINKING TIME:

  1. HOW IS LOVE DIFFERENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW?
  2. HOW IS WALKING IN THE LIGHT DIFFERENT FROM WALKING IN THE DARK?
  3. HOW ARE YOU ALLOWING CHRIST TO SHINE HIS LIGHT IN AND THROUGH YOUR LIFE?