Let God Influence You Daily

Let God Influence You Daily

The contrast in Psalm 1 is vivid: The wicked vs. the righteous (which includes the Lord). To find God’s blessing, we must rest in his presence and influence soaking in his words, ways, and works so that we may become more like him. Then we’re able to influence others where we live, work, learn, and play. This is a daily rhythm/habit of time with the Lord prayerfully listening to him through his word. Psalm 1:1-2 

How to "Soap" Through Scripture

The S.O.A.P method, created and popularized by Wayne Cordeiro, is designed to teach us how to hear from God. 

We hear from God by 

1. Prayerfully reading the Bible, 

2. Noting observations in the verse, 

3. Writing down the applications we believe God wants us to draw from what we’ve learned. 

4. Finally, we pray to ask God to help us apply what he's told us to do in our life. 

As we “hear from God” our next step is to “do what he says” by faith. It is not an overstatement to say that practicing this spiritual discipline will change your life.

Here’s how I do it:

S — Scripture

As I read through my Bible reading plan (usually 1-3 chapters/day), I “listen” to the Holy Spirit for verses that "jump out at me", so to speak, and I mark them. Then I select one of those verses out of all I marked and write it down under “S.” A great Bible app is here.

O — Observation

This is where most of my time and thought occurs. I ask and answer questions of the verse. Questions like who, what, where, why, when, and how. I write all that I observe from that single verse. It can be a paragraph or a lot more.

A — Application

When I do a good job with observations, the applications become clear quicker. I write down what the verse is telling me to do. Sometimes it is obvious and explicit—sometimes it is implied and more subtle.

P — Prayer

With a posture to apply this verse to my life, I write out a simple prayer to God asking him to help me apply the wisdom I just wrote down. I can write more than that but I write at least that.

Then I give that day’s entry a simple and memorable title that will help me remember it throughout the day.

Then I write the date, title, and verse reference in the front of my journal creating a kind of table of contents for the journal.

The entire process takes 20-40 minutes depending on how much you read and how much detail you write. I generally read 3-5 chapters a day, select 1 verse, and then “Soap” on that verse. It takes me 30-45 minutes.

Example

The format you should follow:

Title: 

Date:

Verse:

Name:

(S)scripture -

(O)observations - Ask questions like who, what, where, why, when, and how? Ask things like what do we learn about people in this verse? What do we learn about God in this verse? What do you see happening? Etc. 

(A)applications - What is this passage telling me to do or believe, or implying I should do or believe?

(P)prayer - Ask God to help you apply this wisdom today.

App with free Bibles and Bible reading plans

https://www.youversion.com/

https://www.lifejournal.cc/

Online hub for S.O.A.P. journaling.

*Divine Mentor, Wayne Cordeiro

http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-divine-mentor/280353

The book that started it all.

Preparing for Suffering: Rhythms for Success

As I pray about what God wants us to focus on as a church next year, I find myself settling in on one word. 

Rhythms. 

Despite the on-going spelling challenge, I continue to grow in my appreciation for this word and for those who introduced it into my vocabulary. (Mike Breen, Caesar Kalinowski, Seth McBee, Jeff Vanderstelt, and many others from these Missional Community tribes)

My wife thought this word was a bit awkward to use, at first. If you agree, think of them as habits, practices, or even...systems. *gasp*

Most rhythms I think of are spiritual disciplines. But I do not know of too many people talking about rhythms that prepare us for one thing in particular.

Suffering. 

I mean, who wants to intentionally prepare for that? Nobody, right? Who wants to preach that sermon series?

And, yet, would it not be wise to?

As I think about the direction America is heading in and the growing hostility towards Christians who take the word of God seriously (read: authoritative), we would be foolish not to ask ourselves: "Are we preparing our children and grandchildren adequately for what's coming?"

It is with this in mind that I offer a few thoughts as I noodle over this in late 2019...

Preparation rhythms— 

How do we prepare families for future persecution with respect to suffering and self-discipline?

In addition to the basic discipleship rhythms of daily, prayerful Bible reading, some additional but less obvious thoughts include...

We don’t go looking for persecution, but…

1. Neither do we avoid doing or saying things that might bring it on,
2. We embrace suffering and persecution when it does come our way as if from God (Romans 8:28),
3. Discipline ourselves by practicing denying ourselves things we like but do not always need (ex. Fasting food, drink, sleep, comforts, hobbies, ease; practice silence, solitude)
4. Remember the sense of purpose and urgency Jesus lived with; he did rush around nor did not get caught up in “civilian affairs” (Paul’s words)

Consider what periodic rhythms you might add into your life in the coming year that would help prepare you for suffering and persecution. Then consider how you might lead others to do the same. (2 Timothy 2:2)

One final thought on all of this is to basically practice the rhythms we see Jesus teaching and practicing himself. These are also evident (though sometimes subtle) in the lives of the  Apostles and early Church leaders. (See Acts and letters) 

One that stands out, in particular, I'm learning from Mike Breen. It's a rhythm of retreat and engagement. Basically, it is retreating to prayer, word and remembering the Gospel message and then re-entering the mission field where we are engaging the forces of evil supernaturally as his presence resides in us.