These are a few of our SOAP notes from today’s reading. We encourage you to read and journal on your own first, then join us in conversation about what God revealed to YOU today. Click HERE to go directly to the daily reading if you wish.
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“I Want to See!” | Robin Laney
S~ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38 (ESV)
O~ Jesus was walking towards Jerusalem and a crowd was following. A blind beggar was sitting on the side of the road and asked what was going on. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He called out to Jesus and the crowd hushed him. He was persistent and was heard. Jesus stopped, called for him to be brought forward, asked what he wanted, and then granted the man what he asked for, his sight. The man’s faith healed him even as others around him didn’t find him worthy, Jesus did.
A~ So much going on here. The religious crowd decided the beggar was unworthy to approach Jesus. The man was persistent in calling out to Jesus for healing and Jesus heard him above the noise of the crowd. The beggar identified Jesus as the Messiah in calling him Son of David. I find it interesting that Jesus asked what the man wanted when it might have seemed obvious. Jesus says that it was the man’s faith that healed him. Healed, he followed Jesus and God was praised by all.
My mind is having trouble sorting things out today but I think my take-aways are:
- All are worthy to come to Christ no matter their condition. I was once that blind beggar and I am thankful that he answered when I called out to him. I am thankful for all those who helped me find my way.
- A faith that heals is not a ‘think so/hope so-gonna ask just in case-maybe I will be healed’ kind of faith. It’s a loud, confident, persistent, Messiah-professing faith.
- So many in Jesus’ day and today have missed and miss who he is yet a blind beggar without a Bible, a pastor, social media, or Google recognizes Jesus as the promised Messiah. Ironic.
- And, God is glorified in this man’s healing. Jesus was all about glorifying His Father.
P~ Lord Jesus, thank you for hearing me from among the crowd and calling me to you. Like the blind man, you have given me eyes to see and an eagerness to follow you. Give me more and more faith and clearer vision. I don’t want to miss a thing! Oh, that my life, by your grace and mercy and in your power would glorify your Father, God.
Jesus corrects me | Nikki Metzger
S~ …He told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. Luke 19:11b (NLT)
O/A~ Jesus is telling this story to correct some beliefs the people had about God’s Kingdom. I love how Jesus does this! He is never angry or judgmental, He just tells a story. And He also cares enough to correct the thinking.
I remember holding onto a false belief about God, based on a pretty good movie and zero biblical truth. The Lord gently corrected me through bible teachers and the Word. He has done this many times in my walk with Him. He takes what I believe and then shows me truth.
I just need to remember that if Jesus does this for me, He does this with other believers as well. The Holy Spirit is an amazing teacher and will lead us in all truth!
P~ Thank You for Your Word!! Thank You for all those times You gently corrected me!
Important Investing | Michelle Myers
S~ So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back’. Luke 19:13 (NIV)
O~ A noble man appoints himself to be king. He then gives his servants, what was about 3 months wages during that time (10 minas), and tells them “invest” the money into something that will grow. One does, and gets a 10 fold return. Another does, and gets a 5 fold return. Another one stores it away, saves it, and doesn’t invest it at all. As a result, he has made nothing extra. He did this, because he was afraid of the king, who was known to be a “hard man”. The king then has this servant’s minas taken away, and given to the one who had a 10 fold gain.
A~ Our church is having a gala to raise money for the development of our Children’s ministry. Thanks to a generous donor, we were able to purchase more property. However, funds for constructing the building and the programs, are still needed.
Gala’s are not my thing. Fancy is not my thing. We have opted out of a few other galas over the last year, because I just couldn’t spend the money on a fancy outfit, nor did I want to. Heck, even knowing that it might be something I would wear to other, future events, doesn’t mean it will fit me when a future event arises. My weight and shape has drastically changed over the last few years (another issue You have been working with me on).
I wasn’t originally planning on attending this one; however, our Life Group (small group) is attending it as a group. I felt your guidance and felt like You were telling me that I needed to go.
People talked about searching the second hand stores, to see what they could find. However, for me and my family, we are just coming off of a wonderful fiasco with bed bugs. I am not against buying second hand. In fact, I prefer it. Yet, if it isn’t a fabric that can be washed in the washer and put on high heat in the dryer, it isn’t coming into my home. It just isn’t.
Then there is the financial hit we are still trying to rebuild from, because we felt we needed to work on exterminating the bed bugs, instead of letting them eat us alive night after night. Plus, we have had a couple of thousand of dollars in medical expenses over the last month. It has just been fun times all around!
As we discussed the whole gala thing this Sunday in Life Group. and I inquired about attire, I heard everything from I needed to formally dress up to I am just going business casual. I was reassured that if I didn’t get formal, I wouldn’t “stick out”.
The main dilemma for me, was that whatever funds I used toward an outfit to attend this fundraiser, would take away from the funds I could give the church for the fundraiser. I didn’t have the money to spend on a fancy outfit and give to the church.
As we sat and discussed it, I clearly heard Your instructions…..”Wear one of the nicer outfits that I have provided for you, that are already in your closet. I gave you a practical character and very limited funds, and the bottom line is, what you give to the church is a better investment than spending money on an outfit. Along with raising of the funds, it is a night for fellowship with the wonderful people in your group.”
I made up my mind to wear one of my old teacher dresses. They aren’t fancy, but they also aren’t my jeans and sweat pants. At least I made up my mind, for that night. Then, doubt started to creep in………………..Will I stand out?………………Will people think I am not taking this fancy thing seriously?…………….I texted a friend, who also has very limited funds and a practical personality, to see what she is wearing. She isn’t going, but if she was, she wouldn’t wear anything fancy. Yet, while I was texting, I heard You again. You questioned why I was texting her, when You already told me what to do.
Obviously, in the moment that didn’t stop me from seeking an opinion from her, but reflecting back, the last couple of days have revealed a few things to me. First, I still wrestle with people approval versus Your approval, way more than I like to admit or even recognize sometimes. Second, there is a lack of trust in regards to what You are clearly telling me, and this often causes me to be disobedient. Third, the enemy can and will do anything to get me off track, doubting anything and everything………You, me, my wardrobe, etc. This stupid junk has consumed my mind over the last two days. I just need to be done with it, trust in what You are telling me, and do what You are telling me to do!
P~ Thank you God for Your mercy and grace. Please forgive me for not obeying You. Please keep helping me recognize how the enemy can so easily trip me up, and how I often assist him in doing so!
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