Lakemount Blog

Click on the Following Links for highlights from the trip

Reynold Mainse and Mattie Harbridge took to Haiti

Reynold Mainse in Haiti

Reynold Mainse – Just Back from Haiti

Reynold Mainse – Just Back from Haiti 2

Reynold Mainse – Back From Haiti 3

Reynold Mainse – Just back from Haiti Day 4

In September, a group of brainstormers in our family ministries department looked at the 2010 calendar and planned four fun seasonal events for Lakemount this year.  We made a decision that in late January we would host a family winter party with the assumption that there would be snow.    By the time the date arrived, we had less than three milimetres of snow on the ground, so we postponed the event until the third Sunday in February.  Surely there would be snow by that date!  Afterall, this IS Canada!  What I neglected to realize was that my perspective was based on my experience living the majorityof my life in the snowbelt of Barrie, rather than the greenbelt of southern Ontario.   By our second attempt at a winter party, we realized snow was not coming, and we came to a new assumption that the winter party was to be cancelled for this year.  Irony would have it that the day after our cancelled event, we would experience the first major snow storm for the region.  I wonder how many of us were thinking about how great our winter party could have been, if only it was a couple of days later.

Assumptions don’t always pan out to be facts.   There are so many things in life we make choices about based on our personal assumptions.  Assumptions about what people are like, how our day should run, what churches look like, who God is, how He should act….and the list goes on.  Faith assumptions can cause us to assume things about God that are not necessarily in His character.  It also causes us to sometimes doubt God when we see a situation turn in a direction we assumed a ‘good God’ would never allow to happen.  Get into a discussion with a few people about third-world poverty, fallen evangelists, and the way the church should be, and you’ll soon find that many of us have assumptions we picked up along the way.  If we really value a personal relationship with a supernatural God, then it’s important to be willing to lay aside our assumptions and ask God to reveal who he is.  Those of us who have been brought up in the faith have to struggle with our eagerness to ‘predict’ God’s plans, just like we tried to predict that there would be snow.  Instead, we ought to be proclaiming God’s truths about who He is and His character.  Descriptions of a wonderful God are easy to find if you go to the Psalms, or any scripture.  It’s as we proclaim the truths about God’s character and love for us, then we can be eased of the worries, and replace our assumptions with a confidence in the One who is sovereign over all.  Afterall, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”  (1 Corin. 2:9).  Thankfully the Spirit gives us glimpses into the heart of God, like promising snow clouds in the distance.  However, we are humbled by the truth that until the fullness of His purposes are made known we are left knowing ”in part”, with the hope and sureness that someday we will “know fully, even as (we are) fully known” (1 Corin. 13:9,12).

What assumptions are holding you back from experiencing all that heaven has to offer God’s children?  Can you surrender them to a loving, perfect God, despite your ability to predict His plans?

I see snow clouds hovering in the distance.  Maybe more snow is on it’s way.

“Tis the Season”

We’re in the season of experiences which seem to be in conflict with prevalent glittering images all around us. Home comings, celebrations, giving, receiving, and births seem to be marred by deaths, heartaches and disappointments . Having come to the stage in life when there have beene “quite a few” Christmas seasons, the search through the “memory bank” rapidly produces images which fit into each of these words. There’s not enough space to paint a word picture of each one. For this BLOG I’ve chosen to think about what’s being stored in the “memory bank” for 2009.

I have just had the privelege of participating in the annual “Christmas Hamper Distribution”. Each year Lakemount Worship Centre joins the local food bank in delivering significant food and gift hampers to those in need. For those of us who have the joy of delivering these hampers there is often a keen awareness of the difficult journey of the recipient. Our prayer is that in the giving and receiving there will be a “connection” with the One who came to meet each one of us at our point of greatest need. In the midst of all that you and I experience we must never forget the reason for Jesus coming.

This brings me to the scripture which came to the foreground the other day as I was “surfing Facebook”. The post/link by my sister stood out above the others. To confirm it’s significance our worship leader on Sunday lead us in the song based on Isa. 40 – “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord”.

So here it is … “the reason for the season – memory for 2009” -
.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.

John Hiebert – Pastoral Care LWC

One of the joys of Christmas is the saturation of the air waves with the music of the season. I have found myself humming along as I have picked up the extra milk at the grocery store, waited in the line at the check-out for the great pre-Christmas sales and walked through the mall looking for the kiosk where I might purchase a gift card.

 I love the bouncy rhythms of the Caribbean style carols and the winter songs but yesterday, as I sat for a coffee in the Food Court, I began to sense afresh the nearness of the one whose birth we are celebrating. The old, familiar, repeatedly dramatized words of Away in a Manger, originally published in 1885, came tumbling from my lips.

 Hidden amidst the din of frantic shoppers and tired pre-schoolers, I began to sing

I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky                            
And stay by my side,
Until morning is nigh.

 Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to heaven
To live with Thee there

 Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the thought of what it would be like if HE were not near. How could I ever face a day without knowing His awesome presence? I remembered the call of James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  I recalled that just last week I had seen, in the 73^rd Psalm, how being in the presence of God helps us to bring our struggles into perspective. The psalmist discovers that nearness with God is his strength. He writes, “…I am continually with You … You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth … God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (vv. 23-26).

 Francis Frangipane, in a recent email release says this ‘…the strength of our walk does not originate from within ourselves; rather it comes from our relationship with Christ. Our virtue, if it can be defined as such, is that we have learned to prioritize seeking God; our character is the offspring of our oneness with Jesus. By this I mean, Jesus is not only first on our list of priorities; His influence rules over all our priorities. He inspires love in our relationships; His voice becomes the conviction in our integrity. God has made “Christ Jesus” to be to us “wisdom … and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).’

 Lord, this day I acknowledge my most amazing times are those spent near to You. When my heart is near to You, I am partaking of the nectar of life. Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay….

Ruth Teakle

The Secrets of God’s Heart

This Sunday afternoon during Kidz Choir practice, we took a few moments to allow the children to listen to a new song.   I strategically  dimmed the lights, and had everyone close their eyes so they could focus on the words of the song.  Okay, I admit there was another reason I dimmed the lights.  It was because the kids had become a little ’squirrely’ and now they needed an opportunity to sit quietly.  During the song, I noticed one of our smallest choir members was laying on the carpet with her eyes close.   A few minutes later when the song was completed, the same little girl came up to me and asked for a cookie.  As I passed her the snack, she whispered in my ear “God was talking to me.”  Expecting to hear a long story, I asked “When?”   She replied, “God was talking to me when I was on the carpet listening to the song.”  My heart stopped.  I excitedly said, “What did he say?”  The blonde little girl with her cute glasses whispered “It’s a secret!” I wanted to push further to hear the words of truth a child would hear from the Father in a moment of silence.  I asked one more time the same question and with her hand next to her lips she said ”I can’t tell you.  It’s secret!”  Her grin was from ear to ear, and she ran happily back to her seat.

It came to me last night, as I reflected on the event, that sometimes God whispers secrets in our ears.

How could I question a little girl’s statement when just three weeks earlier I had the same thing happen to me during a corporate prayer meeting?  What began as intercessory prayer for the next generation, soon turned to a proclamation by the Spirit over our children.  Protocol states that an interpretation was in order, and I uttered one statement twice “God is calling His kids to Himself”, and then felt supernaturally hushed in my spirit.  That wasn’t all that God was revealing, but that was all that was necessary to be heard at that time.  Several minutes later, a respected intercessor came up to me and said “I have the interpretation for the word that you gave.”  And he began to uncover the same truths that God had been whispering in my ear during the proclamation.   Then he added, “But I felt I wasn’t to say it out loud, at the time.” 

You see, God’s timing is not necessarily our timing.  And sometimes God whispers things in our ear, that will be of benefit to you and perhaps others in the future, but for whatever reason He trusts you to just “hang on to it.”  I love the scripture that says, But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).   I am sure that the encounters Mary had in those early days were spectacular (including a visit from the angel, and entire groups of shepherds confirming the Saviour’s birth).   While the shepherds left the manger scene spreading the news of Jesus, Mary treasured the secrets God Himself had revealed in her heart, knowing even greater miracles were yet to come.

What secret is God whispering in your ear?  What passions of His heart has He entrusted you with, enough to whisper them into the very core of your being?  Is it a compassionate heart?  A gift for serving?  A justice for the those treated unjust?   Cherish it.  Ponder it.  And then be ready to act on it, when the Spirit says so.

Michelle Mercer

Family & Children’s Ministries

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Rev 5:5 

“Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has conquered”

This past Sunday Pastor Matt brought a powerful word that Jesus is the Lion, and he is roaring over this house!  It has been an incredible month as we as The Body of Christ are rising together joining the ROAR of  Jesus Christ.  He alone has conquered sin, death, and the enemy.  We are standing on His promises and choosing to pursue His presence, in the midst of sickness, and anything else that may be happening in our present circumstances. 

In our Faithworks course this year, we are working through a devotional book called “Igniting Faith” by Steve Blacklund.  It has proven to be a powerful tool teaching us to change the way we think.  Our thought life controls so much of our outlook on life and how we choose to deal with circumstances.  Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

The best way to do that is by getting into His Word, hearing what He has to say, and then start to declare His promises over your life.  It’s so much more than just positive thinking, these are promises God has given to us and we have access to.  You need to raise your level of expectancy and call forth the miracle God has for waiting for you!

Here are some declarations that you can start to claim today!

“I am what the Bible says I am. I have what is says I have. I can do what is says I can do.  I increasingly possess in my experience the promises of God.”"

“I have a sound mind”

“I have great favor with God and man”

“I am healed”

“I have abundant provision”

“I am blessed and protected”

“I increasingly know who and what I am in Christ”