Forty Days of Fire

We are only ten days away from Pentecost Sunday, which means we are in our final days of Forty Days of Fire. The final objective is to fill the sanctuary for Pentecost Sunday while expecting a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Ghost and Fire. This has been a time of prayer, fasting and Bible reading.  We had a special focus for each week of fasting:

Week 1 - Media fast.
Week 2 - Meal fast.
Week 3 - Meaningful fast.  This was a fast that each person did on their own.  Something that we eat, drink, or do that we would miss the most.
Week 4 - Daniel fast.  We are currently on the Daniel fast as found in Daniel 10:3, "I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth."  This will conclude on Saturday after our church prayer.  (We only get the building every other Saturday, so this will be our final time for a group prayer meeting.)

Pastor McGriffin is currently in the Philippines, so Les taught the Tuesday night Bible study.  He taught on the Feast of Pentecost as found in Leviticus 23.  According to Judaism 101, Pentecost, known as Shavu'ot celebrates the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.  "The period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality." 

It is no coincidence that Pentecost is consider the birthday of Judaism and Acts chapter 2 records that the birthday of the New Testament church took place on the day of Pentecost.  We had a great service a few weeks ago to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and now we are looking forward to a great outpouring of His Spirit on Pentecost Sunday!

Forty Days of Fire

We just got home from Bible Study where Pastor McGriffin kicked of Forty Days of Fire.  This will take us to Pentecost Sunday on May 15th.  This is a time to seek the face of God and allow God to speak to us and use us in greater ways.  We are believing for a mighty outpouring of His Spirit on Pentecost Sunday!

Tomorrow will kick of week one with a special emphasis - a media fast.   This includes internet, social media, video or computer games, radio, etc.  This frees us from much of the world's distractions.  As you probably guessed, I won't be blogging (or reading blogs) for the next seven days.

2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Sticking to the Old Path

As you know, we've been riding our mountain bikes on one of the local trails. I always follow Les - he's a very capable, experienced rider, knows how to stay upright, and is willing to lead the way. As I was following him through the sand last week, I reminded myself "Les is not going to lead me into a dangerous situation - he's going to stay on the trail and make sure I'm okay." If I follow his tire tracks, I may not be as swift, but I will make it up the next hill.

Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."

I wonder what makes people think going down a new path is the way to go. I'm not talking about music or hair or clothing styles, those things change with the years (although holiness never does!) I'm talking about revival, renewal, restoration, healing, miracles - we want it all, but are we willing to go down the old path to get it? We read about great outpourings in foreign lands, but that did not come over night.

Jesus said, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21) and "And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29). Many capable men and women have gone down the path before us, tears have been shed, plates have been pushed away for the sake of sticking with the old paths and reaching the goal. If we'll follow there is victory ahead!