God

Home Again! And Ready For A Fight!

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment

Amanda picked us up at Boston Logan Airport at 9:30 A.M. yesterday. Because of the time change we arrived in Boston at the same time we left South Korea! Can you say jet lag?

Actually it hasn’t been that bad. We got home at noon and visited with Melanie, James, Daniella and Mom for a bit. Once the Franklin family headed home to Lynn, Brenda and I took naps for a few hours. Once I was up I pushed myself to stay up until about 11 P.M.

This morning I began getting back into routine. I was up for prayer at 4 A.M.. I walked the dogs and then went to the store for mom’s papers, scratch tickets and morning cigarettes. Then Amanda and I headed off to the church for staff/ board prayer.

Cornerstone is in a 21 day season of fasting and prayer. The church is open to those who sign up for prayer 24 hours a day. So I prayed for an hour and then had meetings until about 10:30.

Then it was home for some lunch and a nap before walking the dogs again. I did a little house work and then sat down to catch up on some writing. Which of course brings me here.

As I prayed this morning the Lord really impressed upon me, through the writings of other congregants in our congregational prayer journal, that the winter season of our church is over and we are heading into a Spring time season.

The Scripture the Lord gave me to meditate on as He impressed the idea of Spring on me was 2 Samuel 11:1

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.”

The word of the Lord to me was that Spring time is a season of spiritual warfare. In this Spring that is upon us we will have to fight as the armies of Israel did. If we do we will possess the land. Conversely, if we make David’s mistake and do not join the fight then we will be taken.

Lord find me ready for the battle!

Rushing Headlong!

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment

Well the count down has begun! We are now just over two days from our trip to The Philippines to take part in Kristine and Joe’s wedding.

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The preparation to leave has our heads spinning. I typed out the list on how to manage the house for Amanda and Melanie who will be caring for Mom Jacopo, Mercedes and the Vicarage while Brenda and I are away. I have sat with the families from the church who will be helping them out during our away time. I picked up Mom’s meds, did some grocery shopping, got money out of the bank for their needs while I am away, bought the dog food and the bird food and the cat food. I still have to clean my car, do the bills, pack and clean my office.

But as the time approaches Brenda and I are reminded that our leaving for there does not mean life stops here. So much is going on this weekend and in our absence.

Brenda’s show debuted last night to rave reviews! It is a powerful show folks. If your church or community would like to book this show you can contact Brenda at Brenda J. Lillie For the Netherlands on Facebook.

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Meanwhile our church is getting ready for 21 days of fasting and prayer. I feel like this is one of the most important moments in our church’s history.

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Today after we open the 24/7 prayer and fasting I am heading off to Special Touch Ministries for our monthly gathering in Westminster. Then I have the 11P.M. – 1A.M. shift at prayer

Tomorrow, Brenda is preaching in Taunton MA and I am leading worship at Cornerstone and then Amanda, my Nephew Tyler and I are heading off on a little journey to wrap things up before Brenda and I take off on Monday for…

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Born And Bred Pt. 2

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment

The Vicarage is what we call our home. We call it that because it is a place where we three ministers of the gospel live. I know…I know…we are not really vicars but I couldn’t bear the thought of calling our little cottage the parsonage. It just doesn’t ring right. It is not just the place where we live though. It is the place where we ministers have grown up. Actually there have been Lillie’s on this block in our tiny town since the year 1940. From my back yard I can see the house where my father grew up.

But the Vicarage is not the Vicarage just because we live there. This old house has housed ministers of three different churches over the course of its life. God keeps putting His men in this house and I have to believe there is a reason for that. We have a purpose here in little Winchendon. We have a job to do which has been assigned by God. He has provided us a space from which to do it. The present troubles facing us do not compare to the power of the promise we have been given.

So no matter what may come, we will carry on.

My Hiding Place

/ joseph elon lillie / 3 Comments


When last we spoke, one of the things I told you was that Brenda was put on sabbatical after her conferences in August. Her leadership told her she needed to take off through the end of October. I was relieved because she was emotionally and spiritually exhausted (and anyone who has ever done the work of full time ministry knows how difficult spiritual exhaustion can be).

During her time away from the itineration trail Brenda sought spiritual guidance and spent a lot of time praying. The Lord led her during that time to write a one woman show based on the life of Corrie TenBoom one of the 20th century’s great heroes of the faith. Corrie Tenboom’s name rises to the level of Graham, Bon Hoeffer, Elliot and Mother Theresa.

That show is almost ready to go up. The first production will be on January 10th. I have sat through two workshops of the play and a few rehersals. It is gripping.

As Brenda once again hits the itineration trail she is offering the show as an outreach to churches and civic groups. Here is a snippet she did for our church during the month of November. She was out of costume but worked it into a presentation she gave to our church. The full production is being hosted at Cornerstone in April.

Brenda is travelling across Southern New England with the show and is also looking at a tour in Michigan. She is wiling to tour your area as well and will come for the cost of travel and a love offering. If you would like to book her contact me in the comments section below.