This is a good story that shows the power of prayer and faith. God is able to do above all that we can ask or even think (Ephesians 3:20) and will do it when we stand strong on His word and have faith that He will do what His word says He will do. Always be encouraged and know that when you feel overwhelmed with life's problems, the Lord is always available to reach out and help. Simply call out to Him in faith believing and ask for it. (Mark 11:23) I hope this story strengths you faith. FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use the new sanctuary. Unfortunately, the church with its undersized lot had used every inch of their land except for the mountain against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of the back yard. Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had "mountain moving faith." They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week. At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation's 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o'clock the pastor said the final "Amen". "We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he assured everyone. "God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too." The next morning as he was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door. When he called "come in", a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered. "Excuse me, Reverend. I'm from Acme Construction Company over in the next county. We're building a huge shopping mall. We need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We'll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge if we can have it right away. We can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly." The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and there were far more members with "mountain moving faith" on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week! Author Unknown Would you have shown up for that prayer meeting? Some people say faith comes from miracles. But others know: MIRACLES COME FROM FAITH! When Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11:14, He said it and moved on to Jerusalem where He overthrew the moneychangers for doing business in the temple. When they walked back that way the following day and His disciples saw that the fig tree was dried up from the root and asked Jesus how He did it; Jesus did not give them some sermon or lecture about how He did it. He simply said "Have Faith in God" (Mark 11:22). Whatever situation you are facing in your life and you are not able to resolve it. Give it to God and have Faith that He will solve the problem. We sometimes take for granted the power that we have when we pray. This is the communication line between us and God Almighty. Jesus never said "if you pray", but five times He said "When you pray" (Matthew 6:5-7). If you need an answer to a problem or have a mountain that needs to be removed, you need to get on your knees or go into your prayer closet and pray and seek the Lord. God is looking for your Faith, and when He sees that you are not trusting in yourself, but in Him, then that's when God is pleased and will resolve whatever problem you bring before Him. God is faithful to answer, when we are faithful to trust in Him to do it. Read and meditate on these scriptures: Mark 11:23-24 Jesus declares "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Psalm 118:5-9 "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes." ********************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] To know more about Jesus Youth, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org **********************************************************************
