Welcome to Encounter Journey

As a church, we are embarking on a new journey... a Bible study intended to create a lifestyle of daily encounters with the Lord! Our walk with God should consist of encounters with Him, meaning revelations through Scripture, receiving Rama words, becoming more sensitive to Holy Spirit, and unlocking visions and dreams. While most Bible studies consist predominantly of teachings and devotionals, the Encounter Journey track serves as more like an outline leading you into personal encounters with the Lord.

Worship creates a different atmosphere that helps bring you into the Presence of God. An excellent example would be when David would play the harp for Saul and the evil spirit tormenting Saul would leave (1 Samuel 16:14-23). David's pure-hearted worship literally made demons leave! Not only does worship change the atmosphere by removing the demonic, but true worship also brings the Lord's Presence. Psalm 22:3 explains that the Lord inhabits the praises of Israel, meaning for us that His Presence is guaranteed when we worship Him.

As Believers, we need to know how to access the Lord's atmosphere-changing Presence through worship, which is why each day of the track begins and ends with a worshipful song. When you learn how to enter the Lord's Presence through worship, you become a person of worship. As a person of worship, you then know how to be worshipful in every aspect of life! 

Prayer's primary goal is to learn the Father's heart about each situation and then react accordingly, not just to receive an answer, or even an encounter. When we know the heart of the Lord, we will know what to say, what to do, what to not do, etc. Prayer brings personal connection with God. Prayer is much like plowing: while it may be difficult at first, it becomes easier because our hearts become softer and more sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Prayer requires more from us than we are often willing to give, but the Lord promises to meet us when we push through and draw close to Him (see James 4:8). Tilling the ground of our hearts with prayer also opens us up to the seeds of Scripture. When we prepare our hearts and keep them tender, we are more capable of receiving what the Lord is saying through the Word. The seeds of Scripture are able to take root when we seeking the Lord's heart through prayer. Additionally, although encounters should not be the primary reason for prayer, prayer leads to encounters (James 5:16, Mark 11:24, James 4:8, Jeremiah 33:3). We must each work to keep the ground of our hearts soft, and that requires a lifestyle of prayer!

If you're wondering what prayer looks like, the Bible explains better than any other source: pray about everything (Philippians 4:6), pray faithfully (Romans 12:12), pray consistently (1 Thess. 5:17), pray for others (Eph. 6:18), pray for healing (James 5:16), pray in faith (Mark 11:24), pray against temptation (Matt. 26:41), pray for growth (1 Thess. 5:17), pray for closeness with the Lord (James 4:8).

Scripture is vital to the lives of Believers. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Because Scripture is God-breathed, the Lord is given a clear, irrefutable voice in your life when you read the Word. However, sometimes we fall into a rut of only reading the Bible occasionally. Joshua 1:8 instructs us on how we should be consuming Scripture: "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." We need to be feeding ourselves the Word continuously and doing what it says (James 1:22). Reading our Bibles should be a normal part of the daily life of every Believer. 

You'll find that the track is setup with a Bible passage to be read in the middle of the day in addition to the morning Bible reading. The intention in doing so is to deviate from normal everyday life, so that the Word of God speaks to you. When we're surrounded by the world, we become more and more calloused, and we cannot receive from the Lord. By reading Scripture in the middle of your day, you must intentionally slow down and give the Lord time, much like an offering, so He has the opportunity to invade your life!

At the end of your day during the first month, there is a list of verses provided for you to look up in your Bible. The verses teach you why you believe what you believe. For example, one list of verses guides you through each part of the Bible where the Baptism & Filling of the Holy Spirit occurred. By walking through these verses yourself, you gain greater understanding and certainty in what you believe, so that you have all the tools to share with others and stand firm in your faith.

As you may have already figured out, Bible reading is a key feature of Encounter Journey. When we finish the second month of this track, we will have read 15 books of the Bible! The intention of reading the Bible as outlined in this track is to create a life-style of Bible reading.

Again, this track is different from typical Bible Studies. Instead of being written with the intention of teaching you a specific lesson, it challenges you to intentionally pursue and receive from the Lord. Its intention is to train each of us to slow down and give Lord time enough to speak, so that we can enjoy a lifestyle of daily encounters with the Lord. Below you'll find the track to follow each day as well as resources to dive deeper and to create unique reminders to help you stay on track! Now that we're done talking about this track, let's get started!