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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Wake Up! | Kim Chipman
S~ So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. Mark 13:23 (NIV)
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:33 (NIV)
O~ Jesus is telling about His return. He warned about the end times and what it will be like in the world. I shouldn’t be alarmed at the mess things are. You said it would be like this.
A~ But You also warned to be on guard. I know this life isn’t all there is. I know there is an enemy – a deciever – who wants to trick us all. Especially those who love You and serve You. There he is, prowling around looking for someone to devour…
I’ve fallen into a habit of procrastination lately. I’ll eat this yummy, indulgent thing now – I’ll be disciplined later. I’m tired and don’t feel like exercising right now – I’ll do it later. I don’t want to get up early enough to get in the Word right now – I’ll sit with You later.
Be on guard! Be alert!
The deciever whispers…”do it later”…How did I get so complacent?
P~ Thank you for this reminder today! Help me to be disciplined and diligent in the small. I know it’s your plan. I need to snap out of it! Each day matters! Each small choice matters! Help me to choose well. I love You!
Weekend War | Michelle Myers
S~ No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:32-33 (NIV)
O~ My BIble says that some manuscripts read, “Be alert and pray!”
A~ Parenting is so hard! As You know, when I am completely frustrated, tired, and overwhelmed; I do less praying and more lecturing. My sense of urgency in getting my kids to understand, make good choices, and act; gets me to the point that I am no longer making good choices and acting in a manner, that I would be proud of, if You showed up at my door in that moment.
I am pretty sure that is a tactic of the enemy for all us, is to get my kids to not listen, argue, and be moody; until it just wears me down. I lovingly and patiently deal with it and them, in regards to it, for awhile, and then something hits me….a tone from them, a dismissive comment, a mess they left….and then, I have had enough. My approach is not so loving or patient, and sometimes, it isn’t even rational. Then, when I calm down, we have to sort through the legit concerns about their behavior or choices, and I have to apologize for my behavior and choices, in dealing with theirs.
P~ Thank you God for my girls, and thank you for Your guidance in helping us raise them. Please give me the wisdom to slow down, and point them in Your direction, when a pile of junky attitudes and disobedience starts to accumulate. Help me turn more to You, when I am at my wits end and completely exhausted.
She Did What She Could | Tara Wiley
S~ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Mark 14:8 (NIV)
O~ She did what she could. In yesterday’s reading, we encountered the widow who gave all she had to God. Today, we read of a woman giving this jar of expensive nard to Jesus, and He says of her, she did what she could. As I continued in today’s reading, I was struck by the anonymous home owner who had an upstairs room completely prepared for Jesus and the disciples to have a place for their Passover meal, the Last Supper. He did what he could.
A~ God has blessed me so abundantly in so many ways. I am daily humbled by the gifts He’s given me, and daily convicted – am I doing what I can with what He has given me, to further His kingdom? To share His love? To reflect His priorities?
P~ Lord, I want to do what I can today! Show me how to creatively use the resources You have abundantly poured into my life – time, treasure, talent – to further Your kingdom. When You come back, I want to be found busily investing in the best ways for You. Forgive me for the times when I am so selfish with what I have been given, and help me to remember these examples from Your Word of men and women who did what they could with what they had been given, yielding it all to Your purpose, even when it didn’t make sense to others around them.
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