GOD ENCOUNTERS
2009-01-12

Monday, Monday...Greetings to all! I'm struggling with a lack of discipline lately. I need to focus on Jesus.


Here's the daily prayer for President-elect Obama and company from the Presidential Prayer Team. 8 days until inauguration. After that, I don't think they will be sending out a daily prayer link, but I will pick various elements out of their weekly newsletter, because I'm committed to praying for this adminstration all the way through.

For the ministry of Daniel P. Coughlin, Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, to grow as God would have it so members may be encouraged to grow in their faith in God, relying on Him as they serve
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
�John 21:16

O loving Lord God, You are the God of truth and You provide for our every need. I thank and praise You for this marvelous truth! I thank and praise You for how You showed Your love and care for us by calling shepherds to care for our spiritual needs. Thank You O loving and gracious God!

As we look to the commencement of the 111th Congress, I pray for Father Daniel Coughlin as he serves the members of the U.S. House of Representatives. I ask that You bless and prosper his ministry to the members of the House, their staffs, and all who serve in that body. Encourage Fr. Coughlin and his team with a fresh inspiration from Your Holy Spirit as they make plans, meet needs and serve You. I ask this in Jesus� holy name, amen.



Psalm for Today: Psalm 144
I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
Verses 9-11


Day 308 in The Message//Remix:Solo

It's review day again, so I'll look back on the last six days and see what God taught me. I do like what the author calls this session (which is the same thing I use for the title), "God Encounters." Hopefully, I've encountered God during the past six days.

DAY 302--SHAPING WORRIES INTO PRAYERS--Philippians 4:6-9

This was a beautiful translation of an already beautiful passage of Scripture. I think I'll quote the whole passage again, here. Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me [Paul], what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. So here is a formula to help us handle worries. First, we turn them over to God in the form of prayers and petitions, always giving thanks. Then we meditate on things that fit the descriptions that Paul gives in the second half of the passage.

DAY 303--HE IS SUPREME--Colossians 1:15-23

Jesus is timeless. He existed before the world was formed, and he lives now. He will fix all the brokenness in this world. And that makes me very happy, because I'm one of the broken "things" in this world.

DAY 304--ALL-PURPOSE GARMENT--Colossians 3:3-5,12-17

New life is possible in Christ. We can obtain it. We must, however, let him "kill off" all the old, undesirable stuff, part of the life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. After we kill all the old, then we must "put on" love, which he describes as the "basic, all-purpose garment." I love that phrase. It fits so well. And...unlike most garments you buy at the store...love IS one-size-fits-all!! Hah!

The final command of Paul in this passage is, of course, my favorite command in the whole Bible. SING!!

DAY 305--VIRTUE CHECKLIST--Colossians 4:2-6

This passage was my most challenging of the week, I think. We are admonished to pray diligently, staying alert with gratitude, and then to be gracious in our speech, not bringing others down, but always trying to bring out the best in others.

That still hurts. This is just one of my weakest points. But I'm committed to pulling this off. Seriously. And my biggest challenges to this are at my job. So I need to get to work on them.

I liked the final quote from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. For a canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus communicates, without loss to itself, its superabundant water. In the Church at the present day, we have many canals, few reservoirs.

DAY 306--ONLY GOD APPROVAL--1 Thessalonians 2:3-8

Paul is defending himself and his companions in this passage. Proving that they were never after crowd approval, but only "God approval." The author asks readers to check our decisions made in the past week, to see what decisions were made to make us look better or were made to obtain God's approval.

What are our motives?

DAY 307--SOMEONE ELSE'S FAITH AND LOVE--1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

In this passage, Paul celebrates relationships. For the daily devotion, I was simply asked to think of some people whose relationships I celebrate and pray for them. I enjoyed doing this, as it caused me to think of some people that I had not thought of in a while.

That's it for the review, but I want to do one more thing today. I want to look back and recap the goals that God has set before me so far for 2009. So here goes.

1. Feet firmly planted on love (my phrase for the year)--still a long way to go on that one.
2. Have more gratitude--I'm making some accomplishments in that one.
3. Set my self aside more often in order to help others--I don't think I've made an inch of progress in that one.
4. Pray diligently
5. Be more gracious in my speech, bringing out the best in others.

So there you go.




Lord, I'm amazed by you,
Lord, I'm amazed by you,
Lord, I'm amazed by you,
How you love me...
--Eoghan Heaslip

Grace and peace, friends!



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