“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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Half-Truths | Joni Tyner
S~ So please, tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” Genesis 12:13 (NLT)
O~ Abram is about to go into Egypt with his wife, Sarai. She is very beautiful and Abram instructs Sarai to tell a half-truth and intentional deceive the Pharaoh so that he will be treated well and receive gifts. He also is intervening to keep himself safe as he fears the Egyptians will kill him to get the opportunity to marry Sarai.
A~ I’ve heard this story before but this morning it really stuck out to me how fast Abram fell from trusting God. I was reading earlier in chapter 12 about Abram being blessed by God and how close Abram was in communing with God and worshiping him. They are looking like really tight travel partners. Then, in a seemingly 360 change of attitude, Abram decides to make up a quick story about his wife to “solve” the problem of perceived danger in Egypt. It is true that Sarai is his half-sister, but he completely leaves out the part about her being his wife. I was so struck by how quickly he forgot about God’s provision and faithfulness. I was struck that he was stopping in the middle of his travels to build altars to worship God and then boom, he impulsively takes matters into his own hands and lies to make his life “easier”.
Maybe I read and stopped on this scripture this morning to remind myself to stay humble. To stay near to God. It reminds me that we can be doing the right spiritual things, (worshipping God, prayer, spending time in the Word) and then, boom!!!…impulsively get caught up in sin. I can see myself in the “half-truth” scenario. I might intentionally leave out a few key details of something that might make me look bad. I don’t exactly lie, I just omit details that I am trying to hide. I think this is a slippery slope of deception.
P~ Lord, I want to be known as a person of utmost integrity. Please instill in me values of complete honesty. I don’t want to be known as a person who exaggerates details, as a person who talks about things and then never follows through. I need to stay close to You. Thank you for this reminder that even though we may be close to You and have knowledge and faith, we are STILL susceptible to sin ALL THE TIME… AND AT ANY MOMENT. Please help me stay focused on You!!
Wrestling with God | Tara Wiley
S~ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired form the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. John 4:6 (NLT)
O~ Today, my curiosity got me. Why did the Bible decide to let us know this was Jacob’s well Jesus sat beside when He had his famous conversation with the Samaritan woman? So I did a little digging.
The first obvious reason is to signify location – Jesus was in a place where a normal Jew of His day wouldn’t be caught dead, let alone would talk to a local. Samaritans were the outliers with bad theology. Yet again, Jesus shows that His love supersedes man’s tendency to quickly judge and dismiss. He reaches for the heart.
But what really caught me this time was the name attached to the well – Jacob. The one who wrestled with God. When Jesus sat at that well, did He have a flashback to that night of wrestling? Did He remember the heart-change of a man who dared to fight with God? And then, He had an encounter with a woman who dared to challenge Him. And He wrestled with her too: gently, honestly pointing out her need for Him.
A~ I love that God looks at the heart and knows just how to reach a person at their point of need. Some need a good hard man-handling; others a simple truth-telling. My responsibility: to be sensitive to the Spirit’s directing as I lead my children to Christ and seek to be a light in my sphere of influence… with a grateful assurance that God will do what He does best: reach their hearts.
P~ Lord, I love Your Word! I love how each story weaves together to show a bigger picture of who You are and how You relate to us. I love Your creativity and the way You draw near to those who need You. Show me how to reflect You to the people around me. Draw the hearts of those I love close to Your heart through the creative power of Your Spirit. Thanks that I can trust You to do just what is needed – in their lives and mine!
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Tara, you have such a gift with your writing and you really help me see fresh glimpses of the perfect plan of God. I think this is a wonderful example of why soap journaling is so powerful, it takes a small piece of scripture and turns it into a memorable example of God personalizing His love for us.
Powerful reminder today Tara. Thank you!