S.O.A.P.

Daily S.O.A.P Blog

Imitate

  • August 26, 2021

Scripture
3 John 11
“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” 
Observation
Evil is the natural state of my heart-and without seeing God, I will do what is evil. Seeing God is more than just casually observing him passively from a distance. When I truly glimpse his majesty, his righteousness, his holiness, his truth…it cannot help but impact the state of my heart, and the decisions I make.
I cannot be saved by my actions, but my actions reveal the state of my heart. He is God, and I am not. But when I truly see him, I can choose to imitate him, and allow him to transform me. 
Application
I am sinful and imperfect, but I can choose. I can choose to see God, or I can choose to look everywhere else besides him. I can choose who to imitate. Imitations are never as perfect as the original, but I can choose to imitate God. I can choose to let him daily transform my heart through the decisions I make, as I imperfectly imitate my father. My actions don’t save me, but they do reveal me.
Today, I choose to imitate Christ. I choose to let him be revealed in me.
Prayer
God, thank you for allowing me to see you! Help me not to casually observe you, and remain unaffected by the process. Help me to imitate you in the words that I say and the decisions that I make, and may you be revealed in me each day. 

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Seek First

  • August 25, 2021
Scripture
Jeremiah 38:16-17
“But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.” Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel says: “If you surrender to the officers of the King of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.” 
Observation
Why was Zedekiah’s oath to Jeremiah a secret? It reveals something in the heart of the king, that he was concealing this conversation with the prophet from his own officials and people. The kingdom was under attack by the Babylonians, but the king was more concerned about the reaction and opinions of the people around him.
Jeremiah told him that his life could be saved, but it would require a shift in his thinking. Instead of making decisions based on fear of what the people would think, he needed to get a lot more concerned about the impending judgement of God in his life. 
Application
It’s easy to let my thinking and my motives get twisted around. It’s easy to slip into the trap of making decisions based on fear of what people think. This passage challenges me to take a hard look at my motives and choices. If I am making decisions based on anything other than God’s guidance, destruction will be the result. Even when I have incurred God’s judgement in my life–there is still mercy, if I submit to his discipline and align my heart with him. I must always fear God’s displeasure more than the criticism of man, and seek first his approval rather than the approval of others.
Prayer
God, help me to align my heart with yours, and surrender to your authority in my life rather than being ruled by fear of others. Even when I experience your discipline, help me to run to you instead of running away. Thank you for your mercy, your love, and your truth. 
 
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Honest Conversations

  • August 24, 2021

Scripture
Psalm 74:1,23
“O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?”
“Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.” 
Observation
Asaph was in a dark place for sure, when he penned these words. There’s no “happily ever after”, no riding off into the sunset. Just the anguished cry of a man who feels abandoned, forgotten, discouraged, and defeated. Asaph’s words are an expression of how he felt in the moment, not a statement of fact-because we know that God did not reject Israel forever. God doesn’t react with anger or shock at the impertinence of Asaph’s words. Instead God saw fit to preserve his words for all time, so that we can read them today.
Application
God is not shocked or angered by what I say when I bare my heart to him. He is not stumped by my hardest questions, not exasperated by my emotional state. Even when I don’t have all the facts right and I’m just reacting in the emotion of the moment, God welcomes my outpouring of frustration to him. Because even in the darkest of these moments–if I keep the conversation with God going, it shows that my trust and my hope is still in him. It is through that conversation between my heart and his, that he is able to continue the transformation he has begun in my heart.
This week, I need to continue the conversation with God.
Through anger
Through discouragement
Through grief
Through depression
Through frustration
Through confusion
Through struggle
Prayer
God, thank you that you welcome my hardest questions, and you love me in my darkest moments. Through the challenges of each day, help me to continually turn to you. May you be glorified in my life, through the hard seasons and not just the easy ones.
 
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Know Your Enemy

  • August 23, 2021

Scripture
Jeremiah 32:2
“The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.”
Observation
Zedekiah, King of Judah had a real problem. The city was under siege, his kingdom was under attack, and the enemy was at the gates. It was time to take action! Something had to be done!
The king took swift and decisive action…and locked up the prophet of God in the courtyard.  Unfortunately for the king, Jeremiah was not the enemy. In truth, neither were the armies of the Babylonians. The prophet and the invading armies were simply messengers sent by God to turn the hearts of the people back to him.
The king could not be victorious in battle, because he didn’t know who his enemy was. 
Application
There are days that I feel under attack.
The enemy is coming against me, and I need to take decisive action. Unfortunately, like the king of Judah, I don’t always see clearly who the enemy is! I end up fighting my wife, or my neighbor, or a random stranger that I don’t know on Facebook…
Nearly always though, I eventually come to realize that the true enemy was me. The enemy is the condition of my heart, and my distance from the Father. The enemy is the pride within me. The enemy is my own lack of self-control.
I cannot live a victorious life, while fighting the wrong enemy! I have to start by getting my own heart right with God, and let Him reveal the things in my heart, which are holding me back from full surrender to him.
This week, I need to be intentional to know my enemy before I go to battle.
Prayer
God, thank you for drawing me back to you over and over again. Thank you for revealing the things in my own heart which are holding me back from you. Help me this week, to not waste time fighting the wrong enemy! Help me to instead fully surrender to you, and let you fight my battles.
 
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To Be Continued

  • August 21, 2021

Scripture
1 John 2:28
“And now, dear children, continue in Him so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” 
Observation
Continue. A short word, but it requires long-term commitment. It’s easy to start things, but not always easy to continue.
“When he appears”…Our father is going to appear. Not if, but when. I need to continue in him, so when this happens I can be confident and not ashamed. 
Application
We’ve all seen it. A parent walks into the room, and suddenly their child reacts. The candy gets swallowed, the forbidden toy is hastily hidden behind their back, and they jump to their feet with the guilty expression that we all recognize. They knew what they were supposed to do, but they didn’t continue. When the parent appeared, they were ashamed…and very much not confident.
I don’t want to live for God like that. I want to continue in him through each season and struggle, confident that he will return, and confident that I am ready, and eagerly waiting for his appearing. I must decide in the daily, mundane, everyday process, to simply continue.
Continue walking.
Continue obeying.
Continue submitting.
Continue loving.
Continue serving.
Prayer
God, thank you for the privilege of walking in you, and the assurance that you will return. Help me to continue in you each day, and in every situation so that I can eagerly anticipate your coming with confidence, and not shame.
 
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Confession and Cleansing

  • August 20, 2021

Scripture
1 John 1:8-10
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 
Observation
It’s a bit of a paradox. God commands us to walk in light, and not in darkness. He instructs us to keep his ways, and refrain from sin. Sin by it’s very nature are the things that are not ‘of God’.
And yet if we claim to be without sin, we not only lie in ourselves, but make God himself out to be a liar! The only way to walk closer to God, is to recognize my distance from him. The only way to become more like him, is to confess how far I fall short. 
Application
I truly fall so far short of God’s perfection. The miracle is that he knows me inside and out, and still loves me regardless! On the days that I look in the mirror and don’t like who I see looking back at me…he still loves the person I see in the mirror. I cannot hide before him. All I can do is say “here I am, God! Real, raw, and ugly. I admit my imperfection, and surrender myself again today to you.”
The truly amazing thing is that when I confess my sins, he doesn’t just forgive me–He also cleanses me from all unrighteousness!
Prayer
God, thank you for your love, your justice, your grace, your holiness, and your forgiveness! Cleanse me again today, as I confess my sin to you. Make me more like you, and help me to walk daily in your ways!
 
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Following Christ

  • August 19, 2021

Scripture
John 21:21-22
“When Peter saw him, he asked “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 
Observation
Jesus had just opened a conversation with Peter, reinstating his ministry after he had denied Jesus. Peter immediately became distracted by John, and started to change the subject. Jesus brought the conversation back on track, and told Peter that the only thing that truly mattered was whether Peter was following Christ–no matter what happened to those around him. 
Application
It’s easy for me to get distracted. It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the things happening around me. It’s easy to get so outwardly focused that I take my eyes off of the only thing that matters for the eternal future of my soul–am I following Christ? If I get distracted from that one critical thing, then nothing else matters until I get that thing right-because that is the foundation on which all else must build.
 
Are those around me struggling? Perhaps…but am I following Christ?
Are those around me walking in blessing? That’s great! But am I following Christ?
Are those around me following other things, and walking away from God? That’s sad. But am I following Christ?
Are those around me living in victory and growing in God? That’s awesome! But am I following Christ?
Prayer
God, thank you for this reminder of the “main thing”. Help me to hear you clearly, and follow you daily through every situation and every distraction. 


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Confidence In The Outcome

  • August 18, 2021
Scripture
Jeremiah 26:23-24
“They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.” 
Observation
Uriah and Jeremiah were both given the same word from God, both obeyed, and both were in danger for their obedience. Uriah regarded God enough to obey him, but he didn’t trust God with the outcome. He fled to Egypt to save his own life, and was killed regardless. Jeremiah also obeyed, but he trusted God with the outcome and remained in Jerusalem–and God protected him. 
Application
It’s easy to slip into the same mistake that Uriah made. “OK God–I’ll obey You! …and now I’ve gotta figure out how to make this all work out.” If I trust God enough to obey him, then I need to trust him enough to leave the results in His hands. Anything else shows that my trust is not truly in the Lord. God did not need Pharaoh to save Uriah. Daniel did not require a can of mace to survive the lion’s den, and the disciples did not need a life raft in order to ride out the storm. The same God who holds my past and my present, also holds my future.
Prayer
God, help me to hear you clearly, and obey you boldly. Help me to trust you fully, with confidence that you are great enough to handle the outcome of every situation if I walk in step with you.
 
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Loving Through Pain

  • August 17, 2021
Scripture
John 19:26-27
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” 
Observation
Even in the middle of extreme agony, in the middle of fulfilling his ultimate purpose on earth, Jesus was looking out for the good of his family, and those he loved. As he hung on the cross and honored his Father, he still fulfilled the commandment to honor his mother. 
Application
It can be easy to become self-focused, even in the middle of serving God and doing the things He wants me to do. When I am hurting, my pain is usually the only thing I care about. Christ has called me to love my family with a love that is outward-focused, instead of self-focused. The true test of my love is not what I do when others are hurting–but rather my response when I am hurting. This week, I need to love my family with a Christlike love that remains strong even when I would rather just focus on me.
Prayer
God, thank you for loving me! Thank you for this example of how to love my family well, instead of becoming consumed by all of the other things that can seem so much more urgent. Help me not to become self-absorbed and inwardly focused, even when I am navigating seasons of pain.
 
 
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Knowing God

  • August 16, 2021

Scripture
Jeremiah 22:15-16
“Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. 
Observation
Knowing God is more than just head knowledge about God. Knowing God means that my heart is burdened by the things that weigh on God’s heart. It means that His motivations become my motivations, His goals become my goals, and His purposes become my purposes. I cannot truly claim to know God, if I am unmoved by the things which move Him. 
Application
In my walk with God, I need to go beyond simply spending time learning “about” Him, and also spend time “with” Him–listening to the things that are on His mind, and the topics that are on His heart. If I truly know God, then it should show in my daily decision. Not just in the things that I “can do” or “shouldn’t do”, but also in the things that I “purpose” to do, and desire to accomplish. If my heart is in sync with my savior, then someone else’s life should be affected for the better, when my day is done. 
Prayer
Lord, teach me your heart! I want to know you–not just cognitively, but in true relationship. I want to care about the things that you care about, and let your motivations also motivate me. May people know more about you, by watching the decisions I make, and actions I take. 

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