SOAP 12/24/2011; John 21:10

Today's reading: John 19,20,21

S) " ¹⁰ Jesus *said to them, 'Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.'"

John 21:10 (NASB)
*Original Greek used present tense to convey stronger emphasis

O) First thing I noticed about this verse is that Jesus valued the work the disciples had done. He saw that it was good work, and He wanted to add their results to what He had already done (because He had already begun cooking some fish). Second thing I noticed is that there is no mention of the grace involved in their catch. He didn't say, "Bring me some of the fish which I helped you catch." or "... the fish with which I blessed you." He simply left it at the fact that they caught the fish. To me, this shows that, even though God wants us to be humble, He isn't trying to diminish our efforts or the results that we produce. Instead, I think He wants us to work with Him, not simply for Him, and He will acknowledge the good work we do.

A) I need to be sure I am doing good work, first of all. God will not ask me to bring to Him my catch, if I have caught nothing. But, I also need to ensure that the catch I have is good. So, I need to be obedient to His direction when I am doing my work (any work), so that it will produce a good haul. I also need to look at a bigger picture and realize that God doesn't need my works (as Jesus already had some fish), but He does desire for me to work. I need to remain humble and remember that it's not about me, it's always about Him.

P) Father, I want to be used for Your glory. I want to work with You, God. Even this morning, as I go to church and I help lead worship, I want to be obedient to Your lead. Holy Spirit, speak the will of the Father to me and direct my every move so that my work will not be in vain, but will be effective. Help me add to the haul of the Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/23/2011; John 16:13

Today's reading: John 15,16,17,18

S) "¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

John 16:13 (NASB)

O) The Holy Spirit is the link we have to the Father in heaven. When we hear the voice of God, we're hearing from the Holy Spirit. Understanding that relationship sheds new light on our true dependence on the Holy Spirit, in following and serving God, according to His will.

A) Learning to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit is the first step. But, just as crucial, is taking the leap to act on what I hear. I test my hearing by acting on my perceptions. The more I do this, the more accurately and surely I will know His voice. Anytime I am acting in response and obedience to the Holy Spirit, then I am assured that it's what the Father really wants.

P) Father, I want to be obedient to Your will. Holy Spirit, speak to me and help me be obedient sooner than later. I want to be faithful with Your word and I want You to continue to use me for Your will. Give me assurance that I am hearing from You and increase my discernment. Help me build my faith by action, and not just by petition or study. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/22/2011; John 13:8-10

Today's reading: John 12,13,14

S) "⁸ Peter *said to Him, 'Never shall You wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.' ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, 'Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.' ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, 'He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.'"

John 13:8-10 (NASB)
*Original Greek used present tense to convey stronger emphasis

O) Simon Peter (S.P. for short =] ) has incredible zeal! He is mentioned in all of the Gospels and Acts as the front-man of the 12, Jesus even names him the rock on whom the rest of the church will be built. One thing that is always there, and it's on full display here, is that zeal. So many Christians get saved, give their life over to God and in the middle of that dramatic turn from despair to hope, they gain this same, amazing zeal! But what happens? Almost invariably, it fades. It's noteworthy that S.P. has been with Jesus about 3 years, to this point, but his zeal hasn't ebbed at all.

A) I can remember when I first gave my life to God. I was riding the bus as a freshman in H.S. and I'd sit in the first row and with each kid that got on and off the bus, I'd tell them, "Jesus loves you!" In hindsight, I don't think this was the best application of my faith, but my zeal was uncontainable! At the time I was a little aimless, I had no one to guide me, to harness my zeal toward something effective. When I recommitted my life to God as a husband and father, I had a refreshed zeal to know the Lord with more maturity and intimacy. I was excited to see what the He had in store for me and my family. I was excited to get to work in some kind of ministry. Kristin and I started by taking over the 1st service nursery in our church (a blessing to all the staffers who were parents). Now that we've served God in a few forms of ministry, for a handful of years, we've become more like veterans in our war, fighting the enemy from a few different arenas, on a few different fronts. I wouldn't say I'm disillusioned, exactly, but it's admittedly hard to get excited to work sometimes. It's easy to overlook what, exactly, is happening when I show up on Sunday to teach, or drum, or whatever-they-need that I'm doing. I need to get excited about every interaction I have with God! If I'm drumming, I need to remember my audience of one is The One! If I'm teaching, I need to remember that I am imparting a very real, living, piece of the Almighty when I share an aspect of anything from the very living Word. The Bible says do everything as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23) and I need to get excited about every interaction just as S.P. did. I think it's much better to have God tell me to calm down, than for Him to wish for me to be more excited.

P) Father, refresh my zeal for You! I want to be excited about every exchange we have. In every way that I work for You, help me to truly realize what's happening on a spiritual level. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to the wonder that is our relationship. Help me go all-in with every aspect of my life in You, God. Help me be aware of when or how You want me to scale it back, but let me error on the side of super-excited and over-the-top for Your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/21/2011; John 10:10,29

Today's reading: John 9,10,11

S) "¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand."

John 10:10, 29 (NASB)

O) So, I'll be brief about a couple early points. First, you can't negotiate with satan. he only comes to steal and kill and destroy, so there is no mitigating, appeasing, or negotiating with him. Second, Jesus didn't just come to protect us, He didn't just come to give us life (i.e., heaven), He came so that we have it (present tense) and ABUNDANTLY. But, these first two points are only to set up the third point.
Thrid, no one takes anything from Dad. This brings up an interesting strategy, in terms of how I "defend myself" from the enemy. I put that in quotes because it's not really me doing the protecting. See, anything I keep for myself is subject to raids by satan. Anything I turn over to the Father is protected.
If my money is my own, he'll try to steal it. If my money is God's, it's protected.
If my health is my own, he'll try to destroy it. If my health is God's, it's protected.
If my life is my own, he'll try to kill me. If my life is God's, it's protected.

A) Only in complete humility and submission to the Father, is my life secure. I need to continually fight the consumer culture around me. I need to continually fight the entitled world around me. I need to continually trust in Him for provision, trust in Him for healing, trust in Him for my very life. It's not always easy, but it's definitely simple.

P) Father, help me trust You at all times with all things. Give me wisdom to know Your will and courage to follow Your plans for my life and for my family. Holy Spirit, keep my heart soft and continue give me the discipline of Christ. Please provide for my family financially. Bless us so that we can continue to bless others. Help me never doubt Your provision. Please heal me and my family of any lingering sicknesses or diseases that are trying to take hold. Please guard our very lives. Protect us from any attacks by our enemy; all according to Your will, not ours. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/20/2011; John 8:31-32

Today's reading: John 7,8

S) "³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'"

John 8:31-32 (NASB)

O) I think a lot of people know verse 32, but not a lot of people realize that it was conditional. Our freedom depends on knowing the truth and knowing the truth depends on being His disciple and being His disciple depends on continuing in His word. We cannot follow a discipline without first knowing the discipline, knowing the lesson. I cannot say that I follow the disciplines of judo if I know nothing of judo. Neither can I reap the benefits of judo if I am not disciplined in judo. The same is true for being a Christian, which is in fact, following the discipline of Christ.

A) So, foremost, I need to know the disciplines; I need to know His word. Studying something of God's word on a daily basis has become an integral part of my lifestyle over the last several months and I need to keep it up over the next - forever - years. Beyond simply knowing the discipline, though, I need to be disciplined by the principles. I need to be applying the words I read and not simply write about them. When I am living according to what I read, and implementing what I write, then I will find continued freedom, just as I have found freedom already.

P) Father, continue to refine me, Lord. You are a consuming fire, according to Scripture, and You will burn out impurities in me, in my heart. I want Your word to do just that. As I read Your words each day, wash me with them, cleanse my heart to be humbled before You and to seek Your will over my own in every way. Help me to take captive every desire of my flesh, to examine it and ensure that I am not a slave to it. Holy Spirit, reveal to me the will of the Father in everything, so I can follow the disciplines of the Son, being a true disciple, and I can walk in freedom. I don't want to be a slave to my flesh, which is perishing. Help me to walk in subjection to The King, being a bondslave to Christ, who never perishes. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/19/2011; John 5:19-20

Today's reading: John 5,6

S) "¹⁹ Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.'"

John 5:19-20 (NASB)

O) In this passage, Jesus is speaking to His own divinity and His descension from Heaven to Earth, but there's a lost principle in this. There is a misleading and misguided saying that goes, "Do as I say, not as I do." I think this is a terrible thing that I've seen in parenting. Now, there's something to be said about a parent making a mistake and talking to the child and admitting the mistake and advising against repeating, but this phrase is all-to-often used as a cop-out. Going all the way back into the Old Testiment, God wanted parents, and specifically fathers, to lead by example. We fathers must show our children how to live, not simply tell them how to live. Now, I imagine there are a lot of fathers who do a good job as examples to their kids, while the kids are around (awake, home, etc.), but notice what the beginning of verse 20 says, "and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing;" More than being a good example when your son can see and hear you, are you a good example behind closed doors? As fathers, we should be able to take any aspect of our lives, any moments, and use them as examples for our children. We should desire that our kids would be able to witness our behavior at any given time.

A) Obviously, there are some exceptions to this based on emotional and/or physical maturity, but I need to ask myself constantly, "Would I want my kids to know about this? Would I want my kids to emulate this? Do I want my kids to aspire to this?" As I live out my life in everything from my work, to how I treat my wife, to my prayer life, to my Bible study, to my internet use, to my language - even to where my thoughts dwell and how I spend my free time - Do I want my kids to do as I do? Or just do as I say? This is the conviction, the standard, the aspiration for myself. This is what it means to pursue holiness and protect righteousness.

P) Father, forgive me for my sins. Help me live a repentant, devoted, charitable, kind, compassionate, forgiving, sacrificing, faithful, righteous life. Holy Spirit, remind me constantly that I am the standard in my family. Help me set the culture in my home. Help me initiate worship and lead in prayer and read Scripture together. Help my children see godly behavior in me and create in them a desire to emulate that life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 12/18/2011; John 4:42

Today's reading: John 2,3,4

S) "⁴² and they were saying to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.'"

John 4:42 (NASB)

O) I identify with John chapter 4. These Samaritans were always on the outside. Not quite Jews, but they wanted to serve God. They had some of the story, but not the whole thing. I feel like a lot of Americans that call themselves Christians must be a little like the Samaritans of this time. They'd heard of the promises of God and they believe, even if their life doesn't quite line up with Scripture. Here, we see that the witnessing of this Samaritan woman would only go so far. It was effective for some, but the real fruit for them, the real impact came, when she lead them to Jesus, in a much more literal way.

A) I can present a pretty good argument for things. I'm also blessed as a pretty effective teacher. If some one has questions, I'm pretty good at answering them. With God, though, words will only go so far. If I really want people to have change in their lives, if I really want people to serve God, chase holiness, and have blessings, then I need to be leading them to Jesus in the most literal way possible. I can't simply present facts to people, I need to show them the love, power, and reality of Jesus Christ. Through worship, God's presence manifests (again, earlier in John 4). Through God's presence, people will see miracles and see the manifest power of the Almighty God. THAT is how they will see who Jesus is. Like the Samaritan woman, they will see that God is, in fact, fully aware of their past and mistakes, but His love is not diminished. In fact, it is the power of His abundant love that overcomes their sins, and the greatness of our sins (all of us) only proves the surpassing greatness of His love.

P) Father, I want to walk in Your presence continually because I want people to see Your goodness through me. I want to be a living billboard, a walking advertisement to Your grace, favor, goodness, victory and love. Holy Spirit, lead me so that I can lead them and they can see the Son, in all His glory. Open their eyes to see and their ears to hear, so they do not miss Him. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.