PREPARE FOR THE STORM PART 3

April 15, 2024 / 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?”

⁴Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶You 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. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All 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. ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And 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.

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

April 6, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For 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. ¹²So 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

April 1, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

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.²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having 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, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let 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

March 30, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

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

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.

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!

An Icy Parade Of Palms

March 24, 2024March 24, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 6 Comments

We had an ice storm over night.

The day dawned bright, sunny and cold.

Nature decorated our Palm Sunday service with diamonds in the trees. Some of the towns in our area lost power due to power lines downed by ice laden trees.

I was a little worried it would be too cold for the Parade of Palms our local council of churches had planned.

But by noon the sun had warmed things up nicely.

About 70 people….family and friends gathered with palms in hand to march up our Central St. behind a donkey to commemorate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.

We finished with prayers by the clergy for our town. I got to pray.

Rabbi Ken prayed in Hebrew.

Jon Bauver the director of The Worship Room House of Prayer prayed.

Father Henry from Immaculate Heart prayed.

Finally Pastor Calvin Miller the coordinator of our event closed us out.

How Did You Spend Your Palm Sunday.?

The Watches Of the Night

March 7, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary

and praise the Lord.

3May the Lord bless you from Zion,

he who is the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 134

Mom’s health is now at a place where someone is with her in her room or the next room 24/7. As I write, Brenda and I are working remotely with our ministries from the table just outside Mom’s room while she watches Jessica Fletcher from her hospital bed. She has just had her morning meds and is slowly falling back to sleep, which she does a lot these days.

I generally have the night watch. I sleep really well in the recliner at the foot of Mom’s bed (an ability no one else in my family shares).

Mom is usually up at least one time in the night if not twice. This has radically changed my sleep schedule and that has blessed me greatly. One of the things I have always wanted to implement in my prayer life was the Benedictine rhythm of prayer: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.

I have managed to implement the sessions but not in their proper time slots…that is… not until this season of life.

Mom’s nighttime schedule has made it very easy to get up and pray for Matins and Lauds. I have to say, spreading out the hours of prayer into more evenly spaced sessions has made the prayer-life balance so much richer. Life flows out of prayer, then life flows back into prayer. One of my hopes is that I will be able to establish this rhythm permanently and naturally into my life.

PREPARING COMPASSION PT. 2

February 26, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

“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 FEW MONTHS I WILL BE REPOSTING THESE DEVOTI0NAL THOUGHTS I WROTE DURING OUR CHURCH’S 21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER. TODAY WE CONTINUE TO…

PREPARE OUR SOULS TO PRACTICE AND FEEL COMPASSION.

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WHAT CAN I DO TO BUILD THE HEART OF COMPASSION?

In Matthew 9 the Bible says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

A heart of compassion starts with God moving on that heart to see things the way He sees them. When we see a need that is the beginning of God moving on our hearts to build compassion. The recognition of the need is the first step.

When we begin to pray for God to send someone to meet the need we further align ourselves with His plan, because I promise you He wants to help.

I love that Jesus told the disciples to start praying for God to send someone to help and then as God He sent them into the very harvest field they were praying about…

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Mat. 10:1, 5-8

When we learn we are the answer to our own prayers for help for others and then become willing enough to actually do something rather than make excuses we will have gained a heart of compassion.

Preparing To Come Out Of the Decay Pt. 3

February 12, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year God has given our congregation a Series of thoughts to focus on. We are calling this 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).“

Each week I am going to take one day to speak to one of these thoughts. Today I am writing on:

PREPARing YOUR SPIRIT(COME OUT OF THE DECAY OF YOUR STRONGHOLDS).

HOW DO WE BREAK SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLDS?

Paul the apostle gives us this instruction. “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. ^4 [a]We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ⁵We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. ⁶And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.” 2 Cor. 10:3-6

Fighting the good fight of faith and tearing down strongholds cannot be accomplished by using worldly methods of fighting and resisting. The Art of War cannot help us when it comes to fighting spiritual battles. Anger, aggression, fighting, confronting, rebuking are nearly useless when it comes to spiritual warfare. It is not for nothing that Paul indicates that the weapons of our warfare in Ephesians chapter 6 are almost all defensive.

The real key to fighting spiritual battles and tearing down spiritual strongholds is not found in what we tear down or get rid of but of what we build in place of the stronghold.

Paul writes in Galatians 5 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. …the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

SO WHICH OF THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT ARE YOU GOING TO PRAY OVER YOUR LIFE AND STRONGHOLDS TODAY?

KEEPING THE FIRE BURNING.

February 9, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I remember as a teenager I gave up piano lessons because I hated the practicing.

My Aunt took me aside, way back then and told me, that I shouldn’t quit.

I laughed and asked, “Aunt Joan, what possible use is piano playing going to have in my future?”

Of course, it turned out she was right. A large part of my portfolio as a pastor has involved leading worship and piano playing through the years….Go figure!

Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels.com

Anyway, worship was a such a large part of what I did as a pastor that many believed I could never give it up. I actually continued leading worship for about 6 months after I became lead pastor, but I did give it up.

Then back in September I was called to lead worship again with a ministry called, The Worship Room House of Prayer.

This ministry is dedicated to building round the clock worship and prayer in our region to empower the church and release the grace of God over our region. It is patterned after the thought in Leviticus 6 of never letting the fire go out on the altar: The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offeringson it. ¹³The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

I believe that if the church is to move forward it will do so from the position of prayer. So when I saw a need I offered my abilities such as they were. I do a devotional hour of worship from the piano on Monday nights from 5-6 P.M. The first month I sounded like a rusty old gate when I sang, and I played more wrong notes than right notes. Even six months into this I am still so weak in this gift of worship, but it is not about me. It is about raising up a prayer that will help the church in our little town move into its next stage of growth. I have to admit It is great fun playing and worshipping again even if the gift has aged in me.

I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE

February 8, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

One of the things I heard in prayer during the 21 days of fasting and prayer, that our church just completed at the end of January, was that I need to prepare in prayer. Part of that prayer preparation is going to be times of family prayer, I think.

I have a confession to make. I am pretty good at private devotion. I am even good at prioritizing corporate prayer with the church body. The area I have always struggled with is in calling my family to consistent times of prayer.

Praying as a family for emergencies… I can do that….but I feel like this preparation is going to be more than just the joining of hands through a time of trouble. I feel like God is calling us at this season to consecrate our family through regular prayer times.

In the past I have always struggled with saying yes to so many things that the yes to family prayer got pushed into the back ground. I do guess that is a common failing of young men, but I am no longer a young man. I need to stop living a young man’s mistakes.

It sounds like my family is game for this. So we have chosen a time and we begin this week!

Notes From the Vicarage

A minister's family living in a micro forest garden

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