“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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First place to go | guest post
S~ Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me. 1Samuel 23:11 (NLT)
O~ This is a prayer of David. David just rescued the city of Keilah from the Philistines, but Saul had learned of the victory and was headed to Keilah to kill David. David goes straight to the Lord in this VERY stressful situation!
A~ I just have to smile because when I get stressed, I just start trying to find a solution in my head. David’s first reaction to the news of Saul coming to kill him is prayer. He just starts with his heart and asks God questions and then just asks for an answer. So simple, so beautiful! Maybe I could try to come to God first?
P~ Lord, again, can I have a heart like David’s? That my first reaction to any kind of stress would be to come to You? I love You! In Jesus’ Name! Amen!
HE is all I need | Angela Kansou
S~ Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Psalm 54:4 (NIV)
O~ God is the one who assists me. He uses his resources and gives of himself to help me. He comes to my aid. God is the one who supports me, carries me and lifts me up.
A~ When life happens…in big and little ways…I find myself most often wanting to solve my problems or go to someone right away to process how I feel about it….what I think about it…how I will respond. Depending on how bad I feel I may or may not think about running to God first. With me, the more painful the things are or the more out of my control they seem, the more likely I am to run to God. However, if they just irritate or just slightly inconvenience me….or if they seem like something maybe i can solve… I am too often tempted to take it to another person or to handle it myself, rather than seeking the one who is my help. How sad it is when I make this choice. I know the one who is my help but I don’t always chose him first. I know the one who has the resources but I don’t always run to ask him before I try to figure it out on my own. This is such a good reminder that HE is the one I need. He has all that I need and He is willing to freely provide for me, if I only ask.
P~ Lord, Thank you for you!! Thank you for reminding me that you are the only one I need to run to with big and little decisions. I have been praying for someone to talk to about certain things but Lord thank you for reminding me that you are there to listen. You will give me the wisdom and direction i need, even if the things seem small. You love the details. You love to build an intimate relationship with me. You want me to share all that I am thinking, questioning, etc. You are my help, you are my sustainer. Lord, in you I put my trust. In Jesus. precious name. Amen.
The Privilege of Sharing | Joni Tyner
S~ They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 2 Corinthians 8:4 (NLT)
O~ The churches in Macedonia were begging for the privilege to share what they had. “Begging for the privilege”. Now there is a gem. In verse (2) it says that they had many troubles, and they were very poor. Still, they were filled with abundant joy and it overflowed in rich generosity. Poor people, having trouble, yet filled with joy, filled with generosity.
A~ Another honest confession. I’ve never begged for the opportunity to give my money, stuff away. I’m naturally selfish, I worry about what I might need later, I sometimes think, “with that much money, I could do ____” And, I sometimes judge whether the person receiving is going to be wise with the gift. Are they using it appropriately? Do they deserve it? What if they don’t take care of it? On and on, my judging goes.
I want to be generous. Outrageously generous—I’m not there yet. I do know that I don’t regret giving in the past. There have been times I’ve given generously. Last year on Mother’s Day we went out for lunch and we had a very pregnant server, we left a $20 tip for a $40 bill, I don’t regret that, I hope it made her Mother’s Day. There have been times we’ve given anonymous gifts to people. We are trying to be generous givers. We are working hard to reduce our family debt and increase our budget margin so that we have even more opportunity to give—to overflow with generosity. I look forward to the privilege of sharing with overflowing generosity.
P~ Dear Lord, everything we have is yours, anyways!! Help me to care more about people and their needs than all the earthly wants I have. Remove that desire in me to always want more. I really do have enough. Thank you for everything. EVERYTHING.
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