Webinar today, May 7, 2020

Two Opportunities to Join 

"Faithful Footprints Atlantic Webinar" online 

Thursday, May 7, 2020

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM 

OR

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

RSVP by emailing bengrieder@ecologyaction.ca

Does your green team or building committee need some advice about how to improve your faith community’s building in the future?  

Join Ben Grieder from the Ecology Action Centre and local climate champions for an interactive online webinar where you can learn about how you can make your faith-based institution buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly! 

Open to all faith-based institutions. 

Please RSVP by emailing bengrieder@ecologyaction.ca

Visit the Faithful Footprints Website: https://www.faithfulfootprints.org/events

QUEST FOR THE QUEEN THUR MAY 7

QUEST FOR THE QUEEN

THUR MAY 7

Read 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 2020 Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is
proclaiming his handiwork.

— Psalm 19:1 (CEB)
A queen bee nestled in her hive can be quite elusive. I’m pretty good at finding hidden objects in a picture game on
a page; but as a new beekeeper, I worried about finding our queen. My husband, Joe, and I spent several months studying about the care of bees before purchasing a hive from a local beekeeper. Our “starter pack” of bees derived from a larger colony came with five frames containing comb and larvae to put in our hive along with the worker bees and a queen. “What if we don’t see the queen?” I asked Joe as we left with our boxed bees. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You don’t have to see the
queen. If you see her eggs and developing larvae, you know she’s there.” About a week later, curiosity moved me to look in our hive. I saw newly laid eggs and growing larvae in different stages of development. Joe was right. I never saw the queen, but I saw her handiwork.

Our search for God can be much like my quest for the queen bee. We long to see God; but because God is invisible, we get discouraged. Yet, if we take time to look, we see signs of God’s presence around us. Just as I haven’t seen my queen bee, I haven’t seen God face-to-face. But I have seen God’s handiwork, so I know God is near.

Prayer: Dear Lord, give us eyes to see you and faith to believe. Amen.

Suzanne Montgomery (Indiana, USA) Prayer Focus: BEEKEEPERS 1

Sunday, May 3, 2020

RESTING ON A ROCK

SUN MAY 3

Read Mark 1:35-39 2020
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
— Luke 5:16 (NIV)
Once or twice a year, my husband’s uncle would drive from his Indiana home to a northwestern desert. He said he needed to get away from everything and spend some time just sitting on a rock. He usually combined his trips with mission work, meeting various needs in the area. First, however, he withdrew to his rock to clear his mind and calm his spirit from the stresses of life.

Whether he intentionally followed Jesus’ example or simply recognized his personal need for solitude, he never said. Either way, his actions demonstrated the pattern Jesus set during his time on earth. Jesus’ life was certainly full. He ministered to hurting crowds through healing, feeding, and teaching. He offered unconditional love. He touched lepers. He ate with outcasts. He challenged the status quo. But even with all that interaction, Jesus regularly withdrew from everyone and everything for time alone with his Father.

Don’t we need the same renewal? If we go nonstop, we deplete all our energy and become no good to ourselves
or anyone else. Personal time with God, who is our Rock, restores our energy and prepares us for another day of loving obedience to our Father.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for meeting us in solitude and giving us strength when we turn to you. Amen.
Diana C. Derringer (Kentucky, USA) Prayer Focus: THOSE BURDENED BY STRESS 9

Saturday, May 2, 2020

SAT MAY 2
2020

NEVER TOO LATE
Read Luke 15:11-32

You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
— 1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)

As part of my pastoral responsibilities at a local hospital, I was called to the bedside of an elderly woman. I found her shouting out in anguish to Jesus and then to me. She had been diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage and was afraid she would die and not go to heaven. When I asked the reason for her fear, she explained that her sins were just too great. I reminded her of the parable of the prodigal son and how our Father in heaven will welcome us back with open arms. She told me she was afraid it was too late. I assured her that if Jesus could forgive the thief on the cross next to him, the same is true of all of us. We then prayed together, and a great peace seemed to come over her. When I saw her again the next morning, she took my hand and said that she knew she was forgiven and welcomed back by God.

No matter what sins we may have committed, whether we are coming to Christ for the first time or returning to God like the prodigal son, we don’t have to be afraid that our sins are too great. Instead, we can reach out to our Father and remember that God forgives and welcomes us with open arms.

Prayer: Dear Father, remind us that it is never too late to turn to you. Help us to be open to receive your love and forgive- ness. Amen.
Scott Martin (New Jersey, USA) — See p. 21. 8 Prayer Focus: THOSE WHO FEEL UNWORTHY