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By SBC Webmaster, on August 27th, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on August 22nd, 2023
You won’t be surprised that my head is currently full of lessons learned while hiking the Bruce Trail. There are places on the Bruce Trail where there are big hills to climb. Whether there is an actual hill to climb or a circumstance in our lives that seems as daunting as climbing a mountain, we look for courage to keep going. If we stand at the bottom of a rise and shake our heads and determine that we just can’t make it then we do not advance any further. God invites us to take a different approach. Our loving God invites us to accurately recognize that there are challenges too steep for us to manage and then to turn to Him to help us. When we pray and admit to God that we cannot climb alone, God is ready and waiting to help us. Consider this Scripture: 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and those who are young stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31) Every day we can be turning to God in prayer and placing our hope in Him. We can trust God to renew our strength and to enable us to climb the hill before us. We do not just pray for ourselves. We also pray for others facing obstacles of all sorts. We ask God to help them and to show us what we can do to support them in their walk of faith. God has been good and wise in moving us to pray for each other. Together we claim His strength and grace for our journeys. Tomorrow August 23rd at 1 pm we will again pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER. Wherever we are at that time, we can pause to lift each other up in prayer and we can affirm our dependence on God to supply the strength we need for the climb before us.
Hoping in the LORD, Pastor Lola
Thank You our God for the accurate perception that we cannot manage the hills of life by ourselves. Thank You that we can know that You are always available to help us. We declare our dependence on You and ask You to keep reminding us to come to You for strength. At this time, we do offer our prayers for all those who have been affected by wildfires. We realize that this is a frightening and uncertain time for many. For those who have had to leave their homes, we pray for reassurance. For those battling the fires and those seeking to help and support those who are displaced, we pray for courage and determination. Our prayer is that the fires will be brought under control. We think of those surveying what has been lost and wondering where they will live and how they will manage. Thank You that You are with them and can supply their needs. Thank You for strong community outreach to assist in a whole variety of ways. God, please guard us against a diminished response of compassion because the needs are so many and so persistent. At times we do feel overwhelmed by all that seems wrong in our world. Everywhere we turn there are multiple needs. This in itself could be the mountain before us that seems impossible to climb. Please show us when and how You want us to act on Your behalf to assist and encourage anyone facing a steep climb because of their circumstances. God, we do thank You for good things that are happening in the lives of people we know. We do not want the challenges we face to cause us to resent the blessings of others. As we find our strength and courage in You, we are grateful. As we witness You bringing strength and courage to others, we see answers to our prayers and want to keep on praying and trusting You. Again and again You reveal to us that when we are weak, You are strong. Your capacity for love and grace is unlimited. Thank You God for these summer months that have given us opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the world you have created. Thank You for evidence everywhere of Your intricate designs and for our ability to experience Your touch in nature and on us. Thank You for the gift of time spent with family and friends. We do pray for those who feel lonely and who do not have family and friends close by. We do pray for the living of each day as it comes. We cannot know what any day will hold, but You do God and so we again choose to commit ourselves and all the circumstances of our lives to You. We climb every mountain with You as our constant Guide and Source of hope and strength. And we openly acknowledge our dependence on You! In Jesus’ Powerful Name, AMEN.
By SBC Webmaster, on August 20th, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on August 6th, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on August 1st, 2023
As my daughter Geneva and I are making plans to complete hiking the last part of the Peninsula Section of the 911 km Bruce Trail, August 7-15th, there are several considerations. We need to ensure that the distance we are intending to travel each day is reasonable. The camping supplies that we take with us will be a necessary means of sustaining our strength. Even when we think everything is all in place, we have to be prepared for changes in weather or changes on the route of our trail that will require adjustment. Sometimes there are new landowners and so as a result trails can get rerouted. In similar ways, it is necessary to be prepared for the unexpected when we are walking by faith on our life journeys. If we are convinced that we know what is best and that we have everything all figured out, then we will not be open to God rerouting us. It is important to be willing for God to guide us each day as we move steadily towards our destination of heaven. When we are desiring to walk daily steps of obedience with our Lord then each new day is a time to check in with God and to invite God to keep us on the path that He has for us. We commit ourselves to walking God’s way when we pray and invite His best plans for us. We can read this encouragement from Scripture found in Jeremiah 29:11, 12, “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” God does have good plans for us and it is both wise and necessary for us to pray for direction and to be prepared for God to refine and reroute where our journey takes us. It is only as we are in regular communication with God that we can be well prepared to reroute and to change our plans to go where God wants us to go. Please plan to join for WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow August 2nd at 1 pm when we can pause wherever we are and pray the prayer below.
Praying for an ongoing commitment to pray for God to lead and guide us as we seek Him and His best ways for us, Pastor Lola
Thank you grace filled God for Your plans for us motivated by Your extreme love for us. We do believe that You have good plans to give us hope and a future. Please forgive us for the occasions when we become so insistent that things come into place our way. We consider it an act of faith to keep coming to You and in our approaching You to confirm if anything needs to change in us. Is there anything You want to show us? Are there any things we are holding tightly to that we need to release? Please forgive us for having a tendency to devote time and effort to selfish pursuits. Instead, we want to want what You want and to believe this is best for us. Our God, we want to seek You with all of our hearts. We thank You for Your promise that when this is our pursuit that we will find You. We think of the times that we have our plans all in place and have not consulted with You God. We want always to be looking to understand the ways that You may engage in Your rerouting that will be in keeping with Your wise purposes. We also realize that sometimes we are praying for someone else and can only imagine one path for that individual. Our prayer is humble and sincere asking that You will show each of us step by step what You already know is the route of Your choosing. Please protect us from the danger of not looking carefully for Your confirmation of where we are to go. We pray that we will take the time to discern Your will for us. We are thankful that You do not leave us to manage our direction by ourselves . For every today, You are God and we place ourselves in Your loving care. In this crucial matter of living to please You and to follow Your plans to give us hope and a future, we look to You for Your generous grace. We continue to recognize how much we need Your grace in the unfolding of our lives. When the goals and plans we have for ourselves, are not Your plans for us, please reveal Your truth to us. Please at the same time give us courage to obey and to welcome Your plans for our lives. When we have grown tired of the hard work and effort of seeking You and living in obedience to You, please remind us that seeking You is our best choice. We have learned that there is blessing in staying on the path that You have for us. Thank You God for Your loving consideration of all our needs and the needs of those whom we love and pray for in the plans that You are establishing in and through our lives. The road is long and we do not want to give up. Our God we look to You to lead us and to walk with us all the way. We give You praise that this is just what You promise to do. In the Name of Jesus our Saviour and Guide .AMEN.
By SBC Webmaster, on July 30th, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on July 26th, 2023
While we have been hiking on the Bruce Trail, I have been so grateful for cool breezes. Sometimes the up and down terrain on a hot summer’s day can seem quite daunting. A cool breeze makes such a difference. It refreshes and makes the journey seem possible. The interesting thing is that the climbing of the heights and the deep descents are not any easier, but the cool breeze comes as an encouragement that we can keep going. This reminds me of the truth of what God offers to us described in Isaiah 40:28-31, 28 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” On our Bruce Trail excursions, we will often pray for God to send cool breezes to renew our strength and we give thanks when He does. This week, I want to invite us to think about those we know who have grown tired and weary and who need the cool breezes of God’s sustaining hope to renew their strength. Our prayer time this week can also be a time to recognize our own weariness and need for God’s refreshment. We can come ourselves seeking God’s cooling refreshment for us. This weekly prayer time that we share is God’s gift to us. God welcomes us to come and hear that He is the everlasting God who longs to lift us up and give us strength for our journeys. Please plan to join us for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow July 26th at 1 pm.
Praying that we will admit our weakness and come to God for strength, Pastor Lola
Our everlasting God and Creator of the ends of the earth, we are so grateful that You do not grow tired or weary. Your capacity to give us strength is unlimited. We see people all around us who are weighed down with the cares of life. We come to You now praying for those who are dealing with ongoing illness and treatments. We think of the fatigue of endless appointments and trying to get attention needed. We do offer our prayers for the cooling breezes of Your refreshing hope to come to them. Today we also pray for those dealing with dementia and decreased memory and cognition. We pray for the uncertain places of not remembering and retaining and how unsettling this can be. We pray not only for those experiencing dementia personally, but also for those supporting family or friends on this difficult journey. Our God please send cooling breezes of hope here as well. Our prayers also turn to those dealing with disappointment. In some cases, it is profound disappointment of unfulfilled dreams. For some it is the pain of broken relationships and misunderstandings. We know our God that You are One Who does understand and so we ask that You will visit with Your compassion and understanding. As You know the disappointment and how it has affected each person, we pray for healing relief when yet again You send cooling breezes of hope. We come to You now God confessing the sin of envy. There are times that we consider others and see all that seems so good for them and how much easier their lives seem. We acknowledge that we do not know all that people face. Sometimes we are just seeing the surface and do not know what is going on deep inside. Thank You that You do know and can touch those places of pain to bring relief. Please God send Your cooling breezes needed here. Our God we come to You now to admit our own weariness and need for Your renewing strength. Sometimes our tendency is to just keep going even when our resources are very depleted. Thank You that we do have another choice and that is to come to You as our Source of hope. Oh God we crave the cooling breezes of your Holy Presence. We ask You to come and sit with us in our need and to provide Your sustaining strength. Thank You for the times You have met our need by sending cooling breezes before and we look forward to Your loving provision again. Rather than push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, we are praying for wisdom to come to You and to keep coming to You openly admitting our need for You and what You provide to sustain us. Praise you God that You can make it possible for us and those for whom we pray to soar on wings like eagles; to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. Thank You for always accompanying us on our life journey. In the Name of Jesus Who loves us and gave Himself for us. AMEN.
By SBC Webmaster, on July 23rd, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on July 16th, 2023
By SBC Webmaster, on July 11th, 2023
With all the new homes being built around us, we can regularly see and be reminded how a house is constructed. We can witness the foundation being laid and the walls being raised and all the other aspects of a dwelling that make it a secure structure. If there is not careful attention given to each aspect of a house in its construction, then it will not stand the test of time. There are some houses that have been standing for a very long time that remain sturdy because they are well built. Jesus, in Matthew 21:13 quotes Old Testament Scripture from Isaiah when He speaks about the temple: “My house will be called a house of prayer…” It is God’s intention that when His people gather together for worship that prayer is a central part of our activity. Our opportunities to pray are not reserved to when we gather for worship in our churches. We can turn to God in prayer wherever we are and know that the prayers we pray are part of building a sturdy structure that will stand the test of time. Eventually, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, but the prayers that had been faithfully offered up to God could never be torn down. Likewise for us, if our lives are building a house of prayer through our daily praise and petitions presented to God, that is something that can never be destroyed. Each week when we participate in our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER, we are choosing to build a lasting house of prayer. Please plan to join us tomorrow for this set aside time of prayer at 1 pm.
Trusting God to build a strong and lasting structure that draws attention to Him through the prayers that we pray, Pastor Lola
Our God we thank You for this gift of prayer. Thank You that we can come with our honest thoughts and feelings. We come recognizing how much we need You. We want to build a sturdy house of prayer. We pray for our lives to be focused consistently on praying for Your will in all things. Thank You God that when we choose to commit ourselves to prayer that this is an indestructible structure. Please keep revealing to us the power of prayer. We pray for Your grace to bring our true selves into the light of Your Presence. It is clear to us that every day we need You to help us in answering the question, “What would Jesus do”? We also seek Your Divine help in living the answer to that question. In particular this week, we are praying for our words to be the words that Jesus would speak. Please guard us against a quick response that has not been prayed over and surrendered to You. We pray to be set free from self absorption that leads us to respond with defensiveness or anger instead of compassion. We see potential for our words to bring healing and understanding and we pray for us to choose those words that do reflect the love of Jesus. When we are tired, please guard us against speaking words that we later regret. We are asking for the wisdom to know when not to speak. When our words are spoken out of resentment, we pray that You will do Your work of transformation to change that attitude. And God when we find that we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we pray to move from that dwelling place to live instead in a house of prayer. Thank You for the firm foundation of Your Son Jesus. Thank You for walls built with the outpouring of Your love for us our love for You and our constant dependence on You. Thank You for a roof of Your mercy to cover us and everyone for whom we pray. When the outcome of our prayers is not that for which we hoped, we pray that we will not give up on utilizing this gift of prayer. We pray that we will not abandon construction of a house of prayer. Where other pursuits draw us away from this essential commitment to pray, we are asking You God to clear away whatever interferes with You having first place in our lives and in the words that we speak. We offer our prayers now for those who are facing difficulties and disappointments. We pray that our prayers will support their faith in You and that the house of prayer being built will be strong and enduring. All of this we commit to you in prayer in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
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