“There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 (NLT) The heart of this ministry is to inspire a love for God’s Word and encourage the discipline of daily Bible reading and SOAP journaling. 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 am who You say I am | Chelsea Horne
S~ I delight in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of Salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His Righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)
O~ I can’t begin to portray how much this verse means to me! I have been struggling, no- battling -with my identity, with accepting love in my life because I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I still don’t. But God has shown me in His own special Way that He is not in the business of guilt, He is in the business of Grace.
This verse has also directly answered a question that has been deep in my heart for a long time. I often get hung up on the context or wording of a verse and think “There’s no way that’s for me!” But this verse has no such defense for doubt in my heart. Particularly the wording “and arrayed me in a robe of His Righteousness,” His Righteousness! My mind automatically goes to Jesus. This verse is true for me! True for my heart and my identity in Jesus! Doubt has no room to take root in my heart, because this verse is direct, specific, and spoke to me and my heart today! Shame has NO place in my heart or in my life! My sins are covered thanks to Jesus, and my soul has been set free!
A~ Live free, loved and cherished today! That is my goal. To truly rejoice in the Truth that God has blessed me with this morning throughout my day and in the days to come. To say to doubt and shame that there is no room for you here! My heart is overflowing with the Love of Jesus, and He has set me free! I am free!
P~ Lord Jesus, Thank You so very much for blessing me with exactly the verse to blow all of my doubt away! Thank You for showing me Your Love for me and for welcoming me into such a big, loving family! Thank You for healing my heart and for patching up the wounds that I thought would never be healed. Please help me to accept and apply my identity in You so deeply that no storm or calamity of the world will affect it. That no trial will cause even its leaves to be shaken. That Your unconditional and everlasting Love for me, that You, would be the cornerstone upon which I build my life. Thank You for loving me and for saving me! Thank You for the freedom that I now have in You. Please help me and teach me to live free. To truly live in the freedom and Grace of Your Love.
In Your Name I pray,
Amen
Anointed to ……. | Kelley Deases
S~ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
O~ Next to these verse in my Bible, I jotted down, “Pastor Ty Schenzel, Trinity Church, 6/18/05,” to signify when and where I had heard this pastor give a message on this passage. When we were dating, we attended my (now) husband’s church, where Ty Schenzel was on staff. Our lives intersected with Pastor Ty and his wife, Terry, at various churches, retreats, open houses and marriage seminars over the next decade. We even ran into them once during our engagement as we were exiting a movie theatre. They stopped and visited and even prayed for us. In this particular message from 2005, Ty spoke about the calling God gave him to go to North Omaha and share Jesus with kids and teens, a calling which he heeded and led to the founding of The Hope Center. This amazing outreach program is still impacting young lives to this day, even after Pastor Ty’s life was cut short ten years later in a tragic car accident.
The beauty of these amazing words of Isaiah is that they were not only describing his (Isaiah’s) anointing. Jesus Christ Himself used these very words in His day, saying this prophecy was fulfilled in Him. They spoke to the heart of Pastor Ty, impressing on him the Holy Spirit’s will for him to broaden his ministry reach from the suburbs to the inner city. These words really speak to all believers; we are all anointed to preach, to go, to proclaim, to comfort, to provide. Our spheres are all different, but the call is the same.
A~ God laid it on my heart to offer hope to divorcing moms, because He gave me a testimony of victory in that very circumstance. Then He cultivated a new love for His Word, and laid it on my heart to encourage others to discover that for themselves. This has come about in the form of contributing to this blog and facilitating a Bible study group which meets on Friday mornings in my home.
P~ Father, You have a call on each believer’s life. It is to share that light and hope and life we have received with others. When I am faithful to heed Your call, You can use it to expand Your reach more and more.
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