Zephaniah 3:17
“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Psalm 95: 1-7
“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”
Phil. 4: 4-5
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, BUT…….”
As we as the Body of Christ here at Wellesley Mennonite Church come to God in prayer this week, it is my encouragement to spend some time in praise and rejoicing. Challenges do come; grieving and loss is a part of our lives; we will face hardship, yet scripture consistently calls us to persevere and here in Phil 4, Paul challenges us to “Rejoice in the Lord always”. And yes, I struggle with his use of the word “always”. But it is only in God’s strength and by the work of the Holy Spirit that I can rejoice, that I can “delight in the Lord”, even when circumstances are not what I would desire.
So, focus your heart and mind on rejoicing, giving thanks to God for all that He has done and continues to do in your life. Then, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God as well.
Prayer Requests:
· Pray for all who grieve loss these days, whether loss through death recently or in the past, loss of relationship, loss of health, loss of job, or those who have lost focus and purpose during these days of COVID.
· Pray for those seeking medical help, surgery or appointments, and continue to wait. Grant patience and peace, and we pray that God will bring answers at exactly the perfect time.
· Pray for Pastor Kara that these will be days of renewal and rest, that she will be able to complete the work needed on her doctoral thesis, and that God would speak deeply into her heart and soul. We praise God for her!
A Call to Prayer
· Please pray for and with MCEC congregations, Famille Assemblée de la Grâce, Anjou, QC and Ma Destineé, Montreal, QC, as they pray for family and friends in Haiti in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Many in the congregations are from Haiti. Pray for God’s peace and for the safety of the Haitian people. Pray also that the violence will not setback efforts to fight Covid-19 in Haiti. Haiti is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that has yet to administer coronavirus vaccine.
· Pray for the country and the people of Myanmar. Amos Chin, leader of the Bible Missionary Church (a Mennonite World Conference denomination) says, “The death toll has risen to the highest level in Burma’s Kalemyo, which is suffering from the third wave of Covid. There is a shortage of oxygen for our patients. We have to supply our patients with oxygen and treat ourselves because there is no government treatment. 63 Christian pastors, including two of our pastors, have died in Kalemyo. People are suffering and dying because of the civil war and Covid.”
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Phil. 4:23