SOAP 01/04/2014 Genesis 9:6

Today's reading: Genesis 9, 10, 11; Luke 4

S) "⁶ 'Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.'"

Genesis 9:6 (NASB)

     

O) I don't know why this never occurred to me, exactly. God is very possessive of all people. He created all of mankind in His image, and He takes it personally when His likeness, if you will, is destroyed. The NT shadows this concept in a few different ways, but it always felt relative to "us" as humans with each other. Like, husbands need to treat their wives as fellow heirs, for example. But I guess I never thought of how very offended God is whenever we mistreat other people. We aren't just mistreating a person like ourselves, but we're mistreating someone very important to God, someone He created with special purpose, and beauty, and fondness.

A) This seems pretty straightforward. Do not kill people. Well, I mean, okay, "Check." But, I think it's safe to extrapolate this further. Obviously, Jesus gave us the "Golden Rule," but again, my mindset was still very horizontal, if you will. So, as I look around at the people I encounter, I want to change my perspective to be more vertical. Instead of thinking of others as "fellow man," I want to start thinking of them as "God's son, or daughter."

P) Father, may I please have Your perspective, here? Holy Spirit, liven my heart within me as I encounter people in my life. Whether it's established relationships, as with family or coworkers, or if it's more momentary appointments, let me see people for who they are, but also for how they are, created in Your likeness, as someone precious and dear to You. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

SOAP 01/03/2014 Genesis 8:15-16

Today's reading: Genesis 6, 7, 8; Luke 3

S) "15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you."

Genesis 8:15-16 (NASB)

     

O) In the few paragraphs preceding these verses, Noah sends out birds, in four attempts, to see if there was land available, yet. Each time, there is stronger and stronger evidence, with the final proof coming when the dove sent doesn't return. And yet, Noah doesn't leave the ark. Showing great patience and obedience, he waits longer until The Lord instructs him.

A) I know that Noah was 600 years old, but I really don't my relative youth is an excuse. Often times, while I'm waiting for something to happen, or waiting to know God's will about something, I'll start to look for signs everywhere. while signs can be useful (even Jesus talked about signs of the seasons, etc), those signs are still insignificant next to the authority of God's word. Thankfully, while God's audible voice is all-too elusive, we still have His written Word. As I delve into this new year, and revive my pursuit of God through the Bible, I look to uncover His will for my life and my family, over the course of this year and beyond.

P) Father, open my eyes to see, and my ears to hear, and soften my heart to your words, oh LORD. As I notice, or even seek, signs of what may be to come, or what is happening around me, on a larger scale, let me value nothing as much as I value Your Word. Let the authority and holiness of Your Word be the beginning and end of my decisions with my life, marriage, and family. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

SOAP 01/02/2014 Genesis 3:2-3

Today's reading: Genesis 3, 4, 5; Luke 2

S) "² The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'"

Genesis 3:2-3 (NASB)

     

O) So, if we go back to the preceding chapter, we clearly see that Eve is not accurately quoting God. In Genesis 2:17, God tells Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree; God says nothing about touching the tree. So, how did Eve come to this determination? Well, she was not yet created when God told this to Adam, so she didn't mis-hear God. Her information more probably came from Adam. So, either Adam told her the directive from God verbatim and she misunderstood Adam, or else Adam added the little bit about touching, as a preventative measure to keep Eve from eating the fruit. Obviously it didn't work.

A) For our first several years together, I lived in fear of upsetting my wife. She struggled tremendously with anxiety, and I did my very best to avoid anything that might throw her into an emotional downward spiral. Consequently, I tried to take a lot of "preventative measures" that amounted to nothing less than lying cowardice. It never worked though. I was incapable of controlling my wife's reactions. It wasn't until we both surrendered to Christ, that she found the freedom I wanted for her. Since then, I still have a tendency to want to protect her. What I'm slowly learning, though, is that her peace comes from God, not me, and that her spiritual growth has strengthened her to handle much, much more than I usually think. I have to remind myself that she's not who she was.

On a larger scale, this concept of over-stating God's instruction is also found commonly in parenting. I mean, I'm no Texas preacher, trying to prevent kids from dancing, but I'm afraid I haven't always done the best job of explaining why something is wrong, and instead chose the route of avoidance. I need to trust God, and trust that the Truth of the Bible is always sufficient, and I don't need to "filter" things for my wife, and I certainly don't need to make things seem worse than they are, for my kids, out of fear.

P) Father, forgive me for my lies of distrust. Remind me what a beautiful work of grace You have done in my wife, and let me be assured You will do the same with my children. God, I never want to operate out of fear. Let me trust fully in the sufficiency of Truth. Your word is all we will ever need. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 01/01/2014 Luke 2:52

Today's reading: Genesis 1, 2; Luke 1
 
S) "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
 

Luke 2:52 (NASB)

     

O) This part of the story starts with Jesus being 12, going to Jerusalem for the first time, and going to the temple and discussing and debating with the teachers and adults there. This verse shows Jesus being blessed in four ways: Physically, mentally, spiritually, and relationally; respectively. the one that really stood out to me was the last one, "among men." Also, how it appears to have come about (or at least how it was manifested, with the temple story).
 
A) As a parent, I want my children to grow up into God-fearing adults who understand what it means to love and serve The LORD. To do that, becoming Christ-like is literally vital. In the NT, though, most of the life of Jesus we see is the 3 and a half years of His ministry. So, my job in parenting, and trying to shape my kids to be like Jesus, can be hard. But, this is a great outline for how it should go, or what the goals will be. So, physically, I need to nurture them. Mentally, I need to teach them. Spiritually, the growth is in the favor of The Lord, so I pray for that. Relationally, though, that's the one that stood out the most here. As my kids get a little older (closer to 12 and older), I need to begin surrounding them with other adults who know what it means to be righteous. I need to put other examples of godliness before my kids, show them other healthy marriages, show them what it means to study Scripture, what it means to worship, etc.
 
P) Father, may your favor be on all of my kids individually, and collectively. Please bless our efforts as a parent to raise my kids with healthy lifestyles for their bodies, and our efforts to teach our kids, especially through homeschooling. Lastly, give us wisdom to know how, when, and with whom to surround our kids. As they grow through their childhood, please let them become more Christ-like. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 06/30/2012; Titus 2:9-10

Today's reading: Amos 7, 8, 9; Psalms 104; Titus 2      
S) "⁹ Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect."
     

Titus 2:9-10 (NASB)
     

O) This verse jumped out at me with the idea that being a bondslave, at this time, had a lot of similarities to being an employee in corporate America. I mean, I know that it was much more severe then, as being a bondslave was much more like our own shameful history of slavery in this country, but it has parallels in that the bondslaves of that time were actually more like employees, and it was for a set time (or amount of debt) and, more importantly, as a Christian, our attitudes should be the same (a Christian employee compared to a Christian bondslave).
     
A) There are obvious exceptions (like anytime I am told to do something unrighteous), but otherwise, as an employee, my attitude should be one of subjection to my employer's authority over me. I should be well-pleasing to my employer, and avoid arguments. Stealing in the workplace is common, and stealing time has even been a problem for me (through laziness/slacking). Ultimately, I need to remember that I am representing the LORD, and I should do it well in every respect, especially at work.
     
P) Father, Your goodness to me still astounds me. Your grace and favor upon me is truly humbling. With You, I am underqualified and overpaid, so I want to honor You with every part of my life. Holy Spirit, rebuke and admonish me to work in a way that brings honor and praise to Your Name. Bring work to my hands and, through that work, let me glorify You, LORD. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 06/29/2012; Titus 1:9

Today's reading: Amos 4, 5, 6; Psalms 86; Titus 1
    
S) "⁹ holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict."
     

Titus 1:9 (NASB)
     

O) Titus, it's worth noting, was in a position of authority. Paul left him to oversee some of the local churches. As a leader, it's important to know the ins and outs of sound doctrine, firstly, to know how we ought to live. But secondly, there's also another element of properly representing our faith. I think a lot of Christians know what they believe in a general and difficult-to-describe, sort of way. It's not that they're wrong, and they might live their whole life serving God well and being fruitful, but if they cannot express the principle beliefs they have, at least in principle, then that person will have a hard time maintaining any form of leadership.
     
A) I need to be sure I am, not just able, but actually doing, leading my family in learning sound doctrine. Especially with my children, going to public school (Caleb will be starting this fall), I need to keep a close eye on the things they're learning, and be sure that I am putting things in perspective with our beliefs. This seems especially true with sciences, as it seems our current world (both believers and non-believers) have a hard time reconciling the two (faith and science), but I firmly believe science points to God, if the perspective is correct (see Romans 1:20).
     
P) Father, You have opened my eyes and given me wisdom I could not attain on my own. Continue to reveal Your world, Your plan, Your knowledge to me. Holy Spirit, lead me in the timing of leading my family, and give me the words to speak so that they will receive it and learn well. Let me both exhort them, and refute the contradictions they hear. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 06/28/2012; Amos 3:7

Today's reading: Amos 1, 2, 3; Psalm 80; 2 Timothy 4

S) "⁷ Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets."
     

Amos 3:7 (NASB)
     

O) This is such a compelling statement. Here, the LORD is doing something major and Amos is prophesying about a calamity that will come, even against the LORD's people, but in general, it's an intriguing statement. God tells His people before acting. How literally can this be taken? There isn't much room for interpretation. Even if we wanted to say it was only true concerning "major" things, that's still enough to make me want to seek the voice of the LORD everyday, really.
     
A) Even if this is only true for the big things, how much more important is it that I am seeking the LORD daily? And if it is truly applicable to everything the LORD does, then I should seek Him even more earnestly. Thankfully, this is a time when the Spirit of the LORD is poured out on all flesh, and by the blood of Jesus, I have been sanctified and we can all commune with Him intimately enough that He actually speaks to all of His children. It's up to me to put mysef in position, and to atune myself, to hear His voice.
     
P) Father, thank You for the compassion You show Your people. Holy Spirit, speak to me of the things to come, especially the things You will do in the future. Show me my part, my place in it; let me do Your will. Open my ears to hear and my eyes to see, so I do not miss it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.