I Just Have To Share

What an awesome night!  Tonight seemed like an ordinary night, but GOD makes the ordinary so extraordinary!!

This evening was the first night of our Wednesday night Ladies Bible study on Jonah.  We had such a great group of ladies, some of which had never been to a study before.  How exciting!   While our Ladies group was meeting, there was also an awesome Missionary speaking in the main service from Uganda (I LOVE Uganda).  I know everyone was blessed by her testimony and ministry.   God was doing such a mighty work in our midst this evening.  He met with every age group including the children because this evening 10 children made professions of faith!  Can I say it again...how exciting!!!!  

I have shared in a previous post that this week has been set aside as a week of prayer and fasting.   It may only be me but I am sure someone can relate to that fact that fasting can really play with the mind and stomach.  Every time my stomach growls it is a reminder to pray which is great!    But, fasting can easily be the main focus of fasting! 

I read a great quote this week in our Jonah Bible Study that says, "We've become so enamored with the big fish, we've lost sight of a big God." Priscilla Shirer 


This evening as I was thinking and praying the Lord really convicted me with this quote, but it had nothing to do with Jonah or a whale.

Some might look at fasting like a hardship or difficulty and that might be why we don't practice fasting very often in Christian circles. I know for me it can be difficult because of the high importance I place on food. When something takes the place of God in our life it is hard to hand over that control. Then when we hand it over to the Lord we still keep remembering what we handed over!  Fasting can become more about the loss of food or what I am giving up for the Lord - a self focused fast.  We can become so caught up in the act of fasting that we lose sight of the God we are fasting for. 

I pray that the Lord will help me to focus more on the GREATNESS and BIGNESS of God than the loss of the temporary...food!  Tonight was a wonderful reminder of how GREAT and BIG our GOD is!  There is nothing to difficult for Him!!

Mark 9:14-30

¹⁴ And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. ¹⁶ And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

¹⁷ Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. ¹⁸ And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

¹⁹ He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰ Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. ²² And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³ Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” ²⁶ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

²⁸ And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁹ So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”