Mark 5:19 But Jesus would not let him Instead he said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the LORD has done for you and how good He has been to you."

When's the last time you bragged on God?

Jesus had just helped a man that had been demon possessed. The man begged Jesus to stay with Him, but Jesus told him "no." He instructed him to instead go home and be a testimony of the Lord's goodness. 

As a writer and speaker, among other things, I'm tempted to want my influence to grow and particularly to be invited to speak outside my own area. Years ago, I had a few speaking engagements lined up that took me to San Francisco, Chicago, and Iowa. Shortly after though, I went through a several year period of serving locally, often among smaller groups as I worked at a church in a city near where I live. Even now, I don't have a heavy calendar of speaking engagements. Yet, the Lord is reminding me that there are times He wants us to testify of His goodness right where we are. And to be content with that!

What have you done lately to bring to the attention of your own close circle of influence the goodness of the Lord? Do you share how He has blessed? Or are your conversations sprinkled with complaining and murmuring instead? Consider how, like the man healed from demon possession, you can have a tremendous influence on those right in your own backyard, for His glory.