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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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FAITH THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS   "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20   Glory to God! Everyone faces mountains. A mountain may be an illness that has refused to go, a debt that seems too big to pay, a relationship that has broken down, a dream that seems impossible, or a habit that has held you captive for years. In our scripture today, Jesus talks about mountains. A man had brought his son, who was suffering terribly from epilepsy, to the disciples, but they were not able to heal him. Imagine the disappointment of that father, who had come with hope, only to find that the disciples could do nothing. The father then came to Jesus, who rebuked the demon, and the boy was healed from that very hour. Afterwards, the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.   "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11   Glory to God! Yesterday, we discussed God as our Provider. Today, we are looking at the same truth from the perspective of daily dependence. In the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, He taught us to ask for daily bread; as simple as the prayer is, there is a lot of wisdom in it. The first thing to note from the prayer is that Jesus taught us to include others in our prayer for provision. He did not teach us to say 'give me', but rather 'give us'. Even in our prayer for bread, we are reminded that we belong to a family. We are praying for others to have bread as well, and we are reminded to share what we have. Anyone who prays this prayer sincerely cannot ignore the hungry. The Lord is teaching us to live one day at a time. We are not asked to pray for next month's bread or next year's bread, but for today's. Tomorrow will have its own bread when it arrives. ...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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THE GOD WHO PROVIDES   "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19   Glory to God! The context of God will provide, as we have seen from our opening scripture, which was written to the church in Philippi, speaks of God's response to the generosity of the Philippians. The Philippians had supported Paul financially again and again. When he was in Thessalonica, they sent help more than once. And now, when he was in prison, they sent a gift through Epaphroditus. Paul thanked them and told them that their gift was a sweet-smelling sacrifice, well pleasing to God. Then he said, 'But my God shall supply all your need.' He was telling them that because they had sown into his need, God would take care of theirs. Notice the word 'my'. Paul did not say 'God'; he said 'my God'. He was speaking from personal experience. He had been in abundance and in lack, and he had found that God was fait...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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\ GRATITUDE IN THE VALLEY "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17-18 Glory to God! It is easy to be grateful when the barn is full. It is easy to say 'thank You, Lord' when everything is clear and at peace. But what about the valley? What about the season when the barn is empty and the harvest has failed? The prophet Habakkuk teaches us how to be grateful in the valley. He began his writings with a complaint. He looked around and saw violence, injustice, and wickedness, and he asked God why He was not doing anything about it. I believe we have also been there, asking God why He is quiet about certain things happening around us. God answered the Prophet that He was raising the Babylonians,...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT   "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17   Glory to God! Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, comes from God. This means that nothing good in your life came out of nowhere. The air you breathe, the food on your table, the talent you have, the opportunities you got, and the people who helped you along the way, all of these ultimately came from the Father of Glory. Many people congratulate themselves when things go well, and they say it is because of their hard work and intelligence. We should work hard and use our minds, but Moses warned Israel that when they became prosperous, they should not say, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' He said, 'Thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.' Even the ability to work is a...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS   "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:" Psalm 103:1-2 Glory to God! One of the most dangerous things a human being can do is to forget the benevolence of others. The world is so busy that we forget birthdays, appointments, and even the names of people, and these are small matters as compared to forgetting the kindness of others to us. But when we forget the goodness of God, we open the door to complaining and ingratitude. That is why David commands his own soul to remember the benefits of God. David did not wait for his feelings to rise; he commands his soul to bless the Lord. Our emotions are good servants but bad masters, and the soul must be told who is in charge. Sometimes we must talk to ourselves and tell our souls what to do. Then he lists the benefits: God forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, redeems our life from destruction, crow...
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DAILY ENCOUNTER

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GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS.   "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18   Glory to God! Yesterday, we discussed entering the gates of God with thanksgiving. Today, we are going to look at a very short but powerful passage in which Apostle Paul gives us three instructions for the believer: rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Rejoicing is the attitude of the heart, prayer is divine communication with God, and thanksgiving is the access to what God has done. Apostle Paul did not say, 'Rejoice sometimes.' He says, 'Rejoice evermore.' He did not say, 'Pray when you have time.' He says, 'Pray without ceasing.' The Christian life is not a part-time experience. It is a life of continual joy, continual communion with God, and continual gratitude. How is that possible? It is possible because our joy is not rooted in what happens to us but in who ...
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