“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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Consequences to Disobedience | Deanna George
S “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” Jonah 1:3-4 (NIV)
O~ God is willing and able to get our attention when he sees fit.
A~ Do not run from God! Do not be disobedient because I am scared, do not understand, or flat out disagree with what God wants me to do. God’s creativity provided a way to use Jonah’s surroundings to get get him to face his disobedience. Did Jonah ever think he would find himself in a huge fish and survive? Do I want to speculate what God might use in my life to get my attention? NO! I think it would just be easier to be obedient! It may be hard, but it will be less than the consequences of getting my attention. Plus, I will still need to do what God wants me to do. When I am thinking of being disobedient (and I know when I’m doing it because my heart feels heavy) I need to ask myself, “Are the consequences of God getting my attention something I want to endure?” If the answer is no, then I need to be obedient immediately.
P~ Lord Jesus, thank you for the visual of this story. It gave me a clear picture of you asking, Jonah running, you getting his attention, you save him, and you tell him again what he needs to do. You never left him. You continued to teach him, and you gave him opportunity to learn. I really want to stop having the lessons and just be obedient right away. I am a wimp, and I don’t want to experience your creativity in getting my attention. Please help me to be bold and courageous with whatever you ask me to do. Help grow my faith so that I don’t get scared of what you ask of me, but for my first reaction to be an excitement to see how you are going to use me. Please create a bubbling excitement in my soul so that I may step out in faith and be obedient.
Generosity | guest post
S~ A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)
* Sometimes I will read the proverb chapter that matches the numerical date*
O/A~ I have found myself gripping our finances very tightly this month. I can’t seem to let things go or trust God with our money. What is coming in financially and what is going out isn’t matching, but not in a good way. It seems that money has found it’s way as the #1 competitor of my heart this season.
I’m so discouraged by this. I look back on the season where I trusted my Father with the finances and couldn’t believe how He showed up. I honestly thought that money was no longer a spiritual battle for me. But here I am, chained by poor financial choices and feeling hopeless. And definitely NOT feeling generous.
Maybe I can be generous with other things this season besides my money? My time, my possessions, my attention, my interactions? Maybe this month I can do other things that don’t require money and bless others?
P~ Abba, thank You for the financial stress and this humbling season! Thank You for not letting me stay on the path of dishonoring You with our finances! I’m always asking You for things, I’m starting to learn that You are my good, good Father and You want to give me good gifts! I would like a generous heart! I would like to be refreshed instead of worried. Show me how to be generous this season. Thank You! I pray this in Jesus’ Name!
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