Category: Encounter - First Landmark Baptist Church

ENCOUNTER (DAY 28)

10/12/2013

READ:
“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
- Isaiah 40:25-31 (NLT)

THINK:
On the next clear night when the stars are out, take some time to just look up.
Begin trying to count them and name them at the same time.
How does it make you feel knowing that God already has?

PRAY:
Father, You have created all things.
You simply spoke and formed everything from nothing. I am in wonder!
When I am weak, I will wait.
When I feel powerless to do or change anything, I will wait.
I will wait, for you are my all.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 27)

10/11/2013

READ:
The strength of a horse does not impress him;
how puny in his sight is the strength of a man.
Rather, the Lord's delight is in those who honor him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
- Psalm 147:10-11 (NLT)

THINK:
We laugh when we look back in life at those silly times we've tried to impress people.
We often think that those days are long past. What about those times when we might have tried to impress God? Can you imagine impressing Beethoven or Back with our great rendition of Chopsticks? Why then do we think we have anything to present to God that would impress Him. The good news is, we don't have to impress Him so He will love us or continue to love us. His love is unfailing because of who He is., not who we are.

PRAY:
Father, I want You to delight in me because I trust and rely on You as the source of everything I am and need. I have no abilities or assets that will impress You or make You say, "Wow." I yield my today and all of my tomorrows to Your will for Your glory.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 26)

10/9/2013

READ:
The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.
All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power.
They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
- Psalm 145:8-13 (NLT)

THINK:
Have you ever known someone who had a short-temper? Maybe that person is you. What would our world look like if we could play god for a day? There probably would be nothing left. This is why God's long-suffering (long-tempered) should mean something to us. Certainly we've deserved to feel the blast of His anger, but that is not how He has chosen to respond to us. Instead, He has shown us mercy and unfailing love. It is these works that we should be talking about every day instead of who has done us wrong.

PRAY:
Father, thank You for being slow to anger. It is because of Your unfailing love that w are even here today. I pray You allow us to take advantage of the opportunities to share Your goodness and patience with others. We want to shout from the rooftops Your mighty deeds so that the whole earth will be full of Your glory.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 25)

10/9/2013

READ:
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
- Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT)

THINK:
What are God's thoughts toward you? He says they are "precious." It carries the idea of extreme value. Not only are they valuable, they are innumerable. It is like that every day. God doesn't change His mind about you or me. He is consistent in His love for us and faithfulness toward us. No wonder we sing Amazing Grace with the same joy as when we first came to understand it.

PRAY:
Father, I praise You for your thoughts toward me. When I consider the vastness of the universe that was created by simply a word from You, I ask like the Psalmist, "What is man that You are mindful of Him? Without You we are and have nothing, but with You we have everything. Thank You for thinking of me.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 24)

10/8/2013

READ:
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
- Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

THINK:
The wonder of birth! I remember the days we were expecting. Each birth was met with great anticipation and possibilities. He causes us to tear up knowing the life that is about to enter the world. He dreams of the endless possibilities awaiting us and our children.
At the center of it all is the hand of God forming, fashioning and bringing forth life.
He knows our days. He has an individual plan and it is good,
not easy, but glorifying to His name.

PRAY:
Father, You are the designer, sustainer, and planner of life. There is nothing that can happen that will catch You off-guard. You have a plan and an answer for everything. While it may not make sense to us, for You it fits together perfectly with the future.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 23)

10/7/2013

READ:
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
- Psalm 139:1-6 (NLT)

THINK:
I'll confess, there's something about GPS in smartphones that annoy me. I really don't want anyone to know where I am all the time. I just don't think it is their business. I may turn off my GPS, but God always knows. In fact, He knew I was going there before I did. He knew my thoughts before they crossed my mind. He knows my words before I speak them. More importantly, He knows my heart. The most amazing thing about God is this - He knows everything about me and loves me anyway.

PRAY:
Father, I can't comprehend a "know it all," but that is exactly who You are.
Not only do You know everything, You are all powerful. Not only do You know where I am, You were already there. My infinite mind cannot fathom the infinite.
All I can say is thank You for Your presence both today and tomorrow.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 22)

10/6/2013

READ:
I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!
- Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT)

THINK:
We all have places of safety. There are places that we run to when the enemy approaches. For the Psalmist it would have been the mountains. Even to this day the rugged terrain of the Middle East protects those who need to be brought to justice. Our help and place of safety comes from the Lord. What is He able to do? He is the creator of the heavens and earth. A better question would be - what can He not do?

PRAY:
Father, I will stop trusting in natural resources and abilities. I will no longer place my future in the hands of my intellect and savvy. All of those will let me down. My trust is not in government or friends in high places. My trust is in You. You were the one who spoke and it was. You are all powerful and I will rest in Your hands.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 21)

10/4/2013

READ:
For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens.
Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
- Psalm 113:4-9 (NLT)

THINK:
How high is high? The average distance from the earth to the moon is 238,857 miles.
This is the farthest men have traveled. No wonder no one can be compared to God.
The Psalmist says that far below Him rest the heavens and the earth.
He is that high, but comes to us because He loves us.

PRAY:
Father, I confess that at times I've failed to remember how big You are.
When I consider the magnitude of You and remember that You love me in my frail condition, I become overwhelmed. You take those whom the world classifies as nobodies, and make them princes.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 20)

10/3/2013

READ:
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.
- Psalm 103:11-14 (NLT)

THINK:
I know you have experienced conflict in a relationship. Eventually you were able to work things out and offered to forgive. Perhaps you were the one what asked for forgiveness. Sometime later there was another conflict and past sins and failures were brought up. What did God do with our sins? How far is the east from the west? God doesn't remind us of forgiven sin at a later date of conflict. We stand before Him justified.

PRAY:
Father, thank You for forgiving me. I know it is not because of who I am or what I've done. It is because of what Jesus did for me. He suffered my judgement so that I could live as a son/daughter and call You Father. When Satan brings up my past,
I pray that I will remind him of his future.

ENCOUNTER (DAY 19)

10/3/2013

READ:
Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.
Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.
- Psalm 95:1-7 (NLT)

THINK:
We love the image of sheep and a shepherd. We think of sheep all fluffy and white playing, eating, sleeping under the watchful eye of a shepherd. Really thought, sheep are dumb. They can get behind a rock and be lost. They can't run fast. They can't defend themselves. The truth is a sheep can't make it without a shepherd.
Neither can we! Praise God that He is our Shepherd.

PRAY:
Father, because You are our Shepherd we will worship and praise You. We will breathe in who You are and then as we exhale we will sing words of praise. Help us to do so with volume and emotion! Help us to see You deeper so that our praise will be louder.