My SOAP devotional for 9/20
S - Ezekiel 15:1-5
"The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? 3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? 4 And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5 If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?"
O - The vine is the support or "foundation" that produces the fruit. The fruit cannot be produced without the vine but the vine that does not produce fruit is useless for wood purposes and only serves as fuel for the fire...it is burned and consumed.
A - We too, like the vine, must produce good fruit. We are only useful to God when we are using the gifts He has given us to bring others into His kingdom. We draw others close to Him through our example and living a life of gratitude and service. We have the gift of salvation freely given, but we are to serve as a response to this gift, otherwise we are merely fuel for the fire. We become burned and consumed by the hardship of life with no chance for renewal.
P - Almighty Father, you do not NEED us to do your works, for you spoke a word and created light! But I am reminded by your precious word that WE need YOU to use us in your plan for we are most satisfied in you when we serve and bless others. Remind me in my selfish times of focusing on my own needs...times when I just want to "hang out on the vine" connected to your "roots", that I need to soak up your goodness and get to work blessing others! Amen.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Precious Prayers
My SOAP devotional for 9/14
S - Revelation 5:8
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."
O - It seems significant that the container that holds the "prayers of the saints" is gold, and the prayers themselves are described as incense. When you think of gold you think valuable, expensive, and precious. Incense is used for aroma, to create a soothing mood and a pleasant smell.
A - Our prayers are valuable to God, for He keeps them in gold bowls. He doesn't just discard them after He hears them. He does not forget our most urgent pleadings. In addition, we know the presence of the prayers are pleasing to the senses because they are compared to the aroma of incense. Therefore, we should pray without ceasing, even when we feel like giving up, for God wants to hear from us and answers our prayers at the right time.
P - God, may I always be reminded that when I pray, you hear me. Thank you that my prayers are precious, which reminds me that I am valuable to you. Amen.
S - Revelation 5:8
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."
O - It seems significant that the container that holds the "prayers of the saints" is gold, and the prayers themselves are described as incense. When you think of gold you think valuable, expensive, and precious. Incense is used for aroma, to create a soothing mood and a pleasant smell.
A - Our prayers are valuable to God, for He keeps them in gold bowls. He doesn't just discard them after He hears them. He does not forget our most urgent pleadings. In addition, we know the presence of the prayers are pleasing to the senses because they are compared to the aroma of incense. Therefore, we should pray without ceasing, even when we feel like giving up, for God wants to hear from us and answers our prayers at the right time.
P - God, may I always be reminded that when I pray, you hear me. Thank you that my prayers are precious, which reminds me that I am valuable to you. Amen.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
All we do IS worship
My SOAP devotional for 9/8
S - Revelation 4:6b-8
"...In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
O - This verse also correlates to visions in Ezekiel of the same 4 creatures, or cherubim. They seem to be guardians for the throne since they are covered with eyes, watching and observing. Their continuous praise accompanies their presence at the throne. It could be assumed that they are angels, with the purpose to worship and be examples for the reverence required not only in the Lord's presence but at all times. Others have done studies on these 4 creatures and how they relate to the 4 sides of our personalities, God's creation in His image. I find it so fascinating the emphasis on how they worship and give praise.
A - We were made to worship. We are created in God's image. The Lion is the goal-driven strength, the Ox is the diligent persistent worker, the Man is the creative, thinking creator, and the Eagle is flying overhead, looking at the big picture, introspective and yet powerfully wise. This is God in one, and we too have been given these qualities in varying degrees. We were created to do good works and yet with all the time we spend getting caught up in analyzing what we should do and how we should do it, we forget that ALL of it is worship. It all comes back to Romans 12:1 that says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." We must stop, and worship and we must DO while being mindful of our work as worship. It is all for the purpose of bringing glory to God.
P - Lord God, make me ever mindful of looking, and seeing, and doing, keeping my eyes on you, that in all things I would be at worship. Bless all my work for your glory. Steer me back on track when I focus too much on my "gifts and abilities" that you have given me, and forget that I can only do through YOUR strength and power, making myself pause to remember that I am acting on YOUR behalf. Amen.
S - Revelation 4:6b-8
"...In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
O - This verse also correlates to visions in Ezekiel of the same 4 creatures, or cherubim. They seem to be guardians for the throne since they are covered with eyes, watching and observing. Their continuous praise accompanies their presence at the throne. It could be assumed that they are angels, with the purpose to worship and be examples for the reverence required not only in the Lord's presence but at all times. Others have done studies on these 4 creatures and how they relate to the 4 sides of our personalities, God's creation in His image. I find it so fascinating the emphasis on how they worship and give praise.
A - We were made to worship. We are created in God's image. The Lion is the goal-driven strength, the Ox is the diligent persistent worker, the Man is the creative, thinking creator, and the Eagle is flying overhead, looking at the big picture, introspective and yet powerfully wise. This is God in one, and we too have been given these qualities in varying degrees. We were created to do good works and yet with all the time we spend getting caught up in analyzing what we should do and how we should do it, we forget that ALL of it is worship. It all comes back to Romans 12:1 that says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." We must stop, and worship and we must DO while being mindful of our work as worship. It is all for the purpose of bringing glory to God.
P - Lord God, make me ever mindful of looking, and seeing, and doing, keeping my eyes on you, that in all things I would be at worship. Bless all my work for your glory. Steer me back on track when I focus too much on my "gifts and abilities" that you have given me, and forget that I can only do through YOUR strength and power, making myself pause to remember that I am acting on YOUR behalf. Amen.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Eat and Speak
WOW! It's been 3 months since I have posted on my blog. We have been consumed with welcoming our "soon-to-be-adopted" 15-year old daughter into our home. It has been a BIG, but wonderful change. I will say that I attempted to take the "Bible in 90 days" challenge but I was not successful. It was a big undertaking that really was too lofty a goal for the time I needed to focus on our daughter and the biblical truths that we are learning and sharing every day with her! I am not giving up for attempting this again in the future. Now that Sept. has arrived, I am returning to my goal of blogging about my Bible discoveries, hoping to inspire others to dive in and embrace God's word as daily food through the SOAP method. It's so amazing how this VERY scripture that God shared with me today is about just that! Read on and please share your thoughts!
My SOAP devotional for 9/2/10.
S - Ezekiel 3:1-2
" 1 And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat."
O - Ezekiel is a prophet that has just seen a pretty amazing and powerful vision of God's glory, coming down from the sky. I have studied the 4 faces of this vision before in comparison to the 4 sides of God and also 4 personalities of us, his people. I find all of that very fascinating, but I won't go into the details of that here for there is a tremendous amount of visual information. But what is profound is that with all the description of God's appearance, and being that this is my FIRST reading back in routine with the SOAP method, God gave this verse to me where He is telling Ezekiel to simply "eat, and speak".
A - We are not to get so focused on the majesty of God that we forget that He wants a relationship with us. AND that He is calling us to simply act! He wants us to do what He is calling us to do! Even while we should have reverence and awe for God's power and might, we must remember that we are called to "eat" His word, and CONSUME His wisdom, every day, so that we can share it with others. For those that perhaps only see His majesty from a distance...perhaps they believe that God exists, He created the world, and is to be feared...they do not know that He is a God of compassion and closeness. We discover God's character through in-depth study of His word and pray for revelation.
P - God, give me the drive and commitment to consume your word daily so that I might be bold to open my mouth and share your character and your wisdom with others. Amen.
My SOAP devotional for 9/2/10.
S - Ezekiel 3:1-2
" 1 And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat."
O - Ezekiel is a prophet that has just seen a pretty amazing and powerful vision of God's glory, coming down from the sky. I have studied the 4 faces of this vision before in comparison to the 4 sides of God and also 4 personalities of us, his people. I find all of that very fascinating, but I won't go into the details of that here for there is a tremendous amount of visual information. But what is profound is that with all the description of God's appearance, and being that this is my FIRST reading back in routine with the SOAP method, God gave this verse to me where He is telling Ezekiel to simply "eat, and speak".
A - We are not to get so focused on the majesty of God that we forget that He wants a relationship with us. AND that He is calling us to simply act! He wants us to do what He is calling us to do! Even while we should have reverence and awe for God's power and might, we must remember that we are called to "eat" His word, and CONSUME His wisdom, every day, so that we can share it with others. For those that perhaps only see His majesty from a distance...perhaps they believe that God exists, He created the world, and is to be feared...they do not know that He is a God of compassion and closeness. We discover God's character through in-depth study of His word and pray for revelation.
P - God, give me the drive and commitment to consume your word daily so that I might be bold to open my mouth and share your character and your wisdom with others. Amen.
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