SOAP Hebrews 5 Johnny Jimenez

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Scripture
Hebrews 5:11-12
I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again starting form square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago!

Observation
These Jewish Christians were immature. They were reluctant to move beyond age-old traditions, established doctrines and discussion of the basics. They wouldn’t be able to understand the high priestly role of Christ unless they moved out of their comfortable position, cut some of their Jewish ties and stopped trying to blend in with their culture. Commitment to Christ moves people out of their comfort zones. (from my study bible)

Application
I really need to work on listening to God and being obedient. This verse is so me and I have no one to blame but myself.

Prayer
Precious heavenly Father, I thank you for being such a merciful, loving and patient God. Father forgive me for my spiritual laziness and fill me with a passionate love for you, your Word and others. Thank you for how much you have been working in my life and for never giving up on me. I know I do not deserve your love and am so grateful you shower me with it day after day. I pray you continue to place people in my life that strengthen my walk with you. I pray that when I read your Word I may hear your voice clearly and grow daily in my understanding of who You are and what I was created for. I pray this in Jesus’ name…

S.O.A.P. Hebrews 4 Hope

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Scripture
Hebrews 4:15-16
This High Priest of ours understand our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Observation
Jesus mediates our relationship with God. Since he became human for our sake, he has faced all of the trials that we face, but he did not sin. However, even though he is perfect, he has compassion on us when we mess up. Because of him, we can boldly come before God, and because of who He is, he extends us mercy and grace. We do not need to fear coming before Him.

Application
Because of Jesus, I can go to God with anything and he will forgive me and listen to me. I can trust that he is merciful and gracious. When I most need God, he promises that he will be there. I will never be beyond God’s reach.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for your promises. Thank you that you are full of mercy and grace. Thank you that I can come before you in prayer because of Jesus Christ. Please help me to remember your promises and to seek your face daily in prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

G.L.U.E. .Never Forget

Dear God, I pray I'll not take for granted today
The daily blessings you give
Like the sweet smell of a flower
or the green grassy hill.
May I not walk at such a pace
That I miss the beauty of the place,
Nor the smile of a child at play
Or the song of the blue jay.
And may I travel not so fast today
That I fail to help someone along the way.

S.O.A.P. Hebrews 3 Hope

To read this passage click here.










Scripture
Hebrews 3:16, 19
And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt?... So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

Observation
Even though God delivered the Israelites from slavery and they actually heard his voice and felt his presence, they still rebelled against God. They doubted him and turned to their own ways instead of obeying him. They missed out on God’s rest because they did not believe him and his promises.

Application
God has done many great things in my life. I have felt his presence. Yet, I still doubt him. I still try to take control instead of surrendering to God. However, this ultimately leads to anxiety and I miss out on the good things that God intended for me, including the rest that only he can provide. I need to trust God instead of doubting his goodness and trying to take control.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for being real in my life. Thank you for the many ways that you provide daily for me and for the ways I can see that you have been working in my life. Please forgive me for doubting you. Please help me to trust you and to enter your rest. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

S.O.A.P. Hebrews 2 Hope

To read this Scripture click here.









Scripture
Hebrews 2:14
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

Observation
God calls us his children. Jesus had to become human like us in order to save us from sin and death. By dying, Jesus broke the power of death. Death did not defeat him. He rose from the grave.

Application
I am a child of God. What an amazing realization. God gave his own Son to lower himself and become a human so that I could be part of His family. How can I even begin to grasp how big of a love God has for me? Because Jesus conquered the power of the devil and death, I can have eternal life with Him.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for sacrificing your Son so that I can be part of your family. I am sorry for taking this for granted. Please give me opportunities to share this good news with others who do not know you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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S.O.A.P. Hebrews 1 Hope

To read this chapter click here.










Scripture
Hebrews 1:3
The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

Observation
Jesus is God’s Son. God sent him to earth to be with us. God’s Son walked with people on earth. Jesus was not just a man, He was God. We could see God’s character and his glory through Jesus. He came to earth so that we could meet God “in the flesh” and after he died on the cross for our sins, he went back to heaven to sit in a place of honor. Jesus was not just a good man or an angel. He was above all. He is God’s son.

Application
Too many times, I forget who Jesus is. How amazing is it that God son actually walked this earth?! We are able to understand God’s character a little bit better because the early believers actually got to meet and to eat with and to walk with God’s son. I should be thankful that Jesus came to earth. Because Jesus walked among men and died for us, I can know God and he can know me. I should respect and honor Jesus because he is not just a good teacher. He is the Son of God, our representation of God on earth.

Prayer
God, thank you for sending your Son to this earth. Thank you for cleansing us from our sins so that we can have a relationship with you. Thank you for being a personable God, a God that actually lived among us. I am sorry for not elevating Jesus to the level of God at times. Thank you for your forgiveness. In the Son’s name, Amen.

S.O.A.P Titus 3 Hope

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Scripture
Titus 3:2-7
They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.
 But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”

Observation
God poured out his grace and mercy on us as believers. Without his grace and mercy, we would be in the same place as those we judge.  Because of this, we should be humble and show kindness to everyone because we are no better than them. We as believers have a new life in Christ. Not because of anything we have done but because God generously showed us love through giving us his Son. This new life should be evident to all in the way we humbly show Christ’s love to others.

Application
I am no better than anyone else, yet I look down others who have become “slaves to lusts and pleasures”. Instead of talking about people who are caught up in a sinful lifestyle, I should show them love, mercy, and grace just like Christ has shown me. I have no room for pride because God saved me purely out of his mercy. I did not earn anything and I still stumble.

Prayer
Lord, please forgive me for talking about “sinners” behind their backs instead of showing them love and mercy. Thank you for your mercy and grace you have shown me despite my sinful heart. Thank you for loving me so much that you gave your Son to die for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

S.O.A.P. Titus 2 Oscar Dupuy

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Scripture
Titus 2:7-8
In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Observation
Paul really pushes Titus in teaching the people how to act but adds that he must be the example.  Titus is going to have to model what godly living looks like before telling others to live that way.  There is integrity in what is said when it is lived out first.

Application
It would be easy to say this or that, and point to someone else and say because they say so.  However, there would be no accountability to what you teach or say.  Integrity keeps you accountable to what you say to others and how you live.  The challenge though is to take serious what we say, and how and why we say it.  My words and actions speak volumes to everyone.

Prayer
Father I can so easily misguide others by what I say and do.  Guard my lips and heart that I may not sin against you.  Help me to be quick to admit any faults.  Help me to walk faithfully and humbly before you that I may stay tinder to others.  In Jesus name.

S.O.A.P. Titus 1 Oscar Dupuy

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Scripture
Titus 1:16
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Observation
There are some people in this world that love to use Christianity for their gain and are far from knowing Jesus.  Saying you go to church, pray, and read scripture, doesn’t mean you are a Christ follower or know Jesus.  That just means you do some good things.  The time has to come when words are not necessary because people know after being with me that God loves them.

Application
I want to be known for loving well--loving God with all that he has entrusted to me from the seen to the unseen.  I don’t want to be known for what I have accomplished but by how they sensed Jesus in me.  For that to take place, there needs to be an emptying of me and an over flowing of Jesus.  “I” get in the way too much of Jesus wanting to show himself off.        

Prayer
May I decrease so that you, Jesus, increase in me.  I desire for you to be known in all that I do and say.  Help me to set my “self” aside and let you lead and guide this day, in your name. Amen

Religion Bytes P4

G.L.U.E. Pray with purpose

G.L.U.E.   Pray with purpose

Focus...Lets not let satan distract us from GOD Principles (pray for each other)
It's weighing heavy on me. It's all I can think about, night and day. Before I bring it to you in prayer, I suppose I should pray for those who are less fortunate than me----- those in this world who have barely enough food for this day, and those who don't have a roof over their heads at night.
I also pray for families who have lost loved ones in sudden death, for parents whose children have leukemia, for the many people who are dying of brain tumors, for the hundreds of thousands who are laid waste with other terrible cancers, for people whose bodies have been suddenly shattered in car wrecks, for those who are lying in hospital with agonizing burns over their bodies, whose faces have been burned beyond recognition.
I pray for people with emphysema, whose eyes fill with terror as they struggle for every breath merely to live, for those who are tormented beyond words by irrational fears, for the elderly who are wracked with the pains of aging, whose only "escape" is death.
I pray for people who are watching their loved ones fade before their eyes through the grief of Alzheimer's disease, for the many thousands who are suffering the agony of Aids, for those who are in such despair they are about to commit suicide, for people who are tormented by the demons of alcoholism, and drug addiction.
I pray for children who have been abandoned by their parents, for those who are sexually abused, for wives held in quiet despair, beaten and abused by cruel and drunken husbands, for people whose minds have been destroyed by mental disorders, for those who have lost everything in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
I pray for the blind, who never see the faces of the ones they love, or the beauty of a sunrise, for those whose bodies are horribly deformed by painful arthritis, for the many whose lives will be taken from them today by murderers, for those wasting away on their deathbeds in hospitals.
Most of all, I cry out for the millions who don't know the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ.... for those who in a moment of time will be swept into Hell by the cold hand of death, and find to their utter horror the unspeakable vengeance of eternal fire. They will be eternally damned to everlasting punishment. O God, I pray for them.
Strange, I can't seem to remember what my problem was.
In Jesus name I pray,Amen."
Be Blessed

S.O.A.P. II Timothy 4 Oscar Dupuy

To READ this chapter click here.








Scripture
2 Timothy 4:1
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:

Observation
There is a sense of seriousness and finalization in this passage.  What is said is said and what is done is done in the light of Jesus who will judge the living and the dead.  Every word that I utter, thought that crosses my mind, and action that I take is seen and heard by Jesus.  So I best be wise with what I hear from my spiritual leaders because Jesus is a witness to what has been said and I will be have to give an account to how I respond.  

Application
God has charged me and all those that are followers of Jesus to love Him with every ounce of our beings and love others the same way.  It is that simple, and yet it is that hard.  It all boils down to how well do I love others and God.  What comes to mind is what Saint Francis of Assissi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words.”  This kind of loving will take on many different forms, in different contexts, and with different people but will be done in the presence of the same Jesus.

Prayer
Father may I live and love and do life all with a full awareness of your presence.  Grant me a hunger and thirst and even pain for what matters to you.  I want to take seriously what you have charged me with.  In Jesus Name.

S.O.A.P. II Timothy 3 Oscar Dupuy

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Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Observation
All of scripture is God breathed--meaning it has the power to bring about life, beauty, and redemption.  God is the beginning point of all that is good, whole and perfect.  In a culture that is disjointed, deceived, and consumed with consumption, only God can bring about proper alignment, clarity, and the peace that people crave.  It would be impossible to know how things should be in our lives unless you know how God intended it to be.  You can’t know God unless you know Jesus.  Through scripture Jesus is revealed.      

Application
Not everyone likes to be rebuked, corrected, or trained.  We think we have life all figured out through our limited understanding of the world around us.  Yet, we find ourselves searching for something more, something meaningful, something beyond us that can bring things back to the way they should be.  There is a good work that God wants us to take part in with Him.  But we can’t know what that is unless we spend time with the one who has revealed himself through scripture.  As I spend time with Jesus and read his word, he shows me what he wants to do in and through me by correcting, rebuking, and training me in the way of righteousness.

Prayer
Father your word is food for my soul.  May your word breath life into the areas of my life that are dead.  May your word teach me the ways of life.  May your word correct my misunderstandings and false views of you.  May your word be ever before me.  In Jesus name.

S.O.A.P. II Timothy 2 Oscar Dupuy

To READ this chapter click here.










Scripture
2 Timothy 2:7
Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Observation
Timothy was a young pastor who was in need of much more life experience and wisdom.  Reflecting on things that have been said to me by those that have left a mark in my life has proven to be enriching. Whether the things said were wrong and hurtful or encouraging and inspiring it is worthy of giving it thought and energy to extract the lessons behind them all.  Yet reflecting is not something that comes easily, especially in the practice of listening to God.

Application
God is constantly speaking to us through creation, life events, others, His word, and His Spirit.  A great place to begin is to listen and familiarize oneself with His voice is His word.  But, you can’t listen much or think through things until you quiet yourself.  He has revealed much of Himself through his word and there are many things he wants for us to understand, but unless we take the time to reflect and think through what He has said, we will miss out on the truths that could transform our lives.

Prayer
Father quiet my heart that I may hear you alone.  May you help me to be still and know that I am in need of your voice alone.  Help me to set aside the stuff that is secondary and focus on what matters most, that is your voice.  In Jesus name.

S.O.A.P. 2 Timothy 1 Carlos Herrera

To READ this chapter click here.










Scripture
2 Timothy 1:6
This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…

Observation
According to scripture, all those that have surrendered their lives to Christ and have become His followers have a spiritual gift. This is a special ability to do something (not a talent or skill) for the benefit of God’s Kingdom and His church. There are several lists in the Bible of these gifts.

Application
I personally have the gifts of pastoring and encouragement. I use my gift of pastoring like second nature at this point in my life. But I think I still need to fan the flame of encouragement.

Prayer
Lord, thank You for being so good and kind. Your love is amazing and mind-blowing. Help me to constantly grow in all that You created me to be, so that my life may bring You glory and honor. In Jesus name, amen!

S.O.A.P. I Timothy 6 Carlos Herrera

Scripture
1 Timothy 6:17
Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Observation
This is such a rich and powerful verse. There is too much in this to unpack but the most important thing in this verse is that the words “the rich in this world” is talking to me. In fact it’s talking to 95% of the people that live in the US. If we live in the US, we are the rich of this world.

Application
I love that God wants to bless me in such a way that all my needs are met and that I can enjoy life. The problem is that it’s so easy for me to meet my own needs so many times. I make enough to eat and live, therefore I don’t always depend on God. So even if my income can meet my needs, I need to understand that God is the one that is providing my needs through my income. Ultimately He is the one that is meeting my needs.

Prayer
Lord, thank You for always taking care of me. You have always blessed me beyond my needs and even expectations. You have been extremely generous to me. I don’t need all that You so richly blessed me with. You are amazingly good! My full trust is in You – with lots or with little I have learned to fully depend on You. Thank You! In Jesus name, amen!

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S.O.A.P. I Timothy 5 Carlos Herrera

To READ this chapter click here.










Scripture
1 Timothy 5:3
The church should care for any widow who has no one else to care for her.

Observation
From the very beginning, the church has always functioned like a family. We are to care for each other’s needs. This is very clear in this instruction that we have in verse three. The “church” should care for any widow within the church. This is not talking about the organization of the church…it’s saying the church “you & I.”

Application
It’s easy for me to read this and think that this is the responsibility of someone else. This sounds like it should be a ministry of the church. But no, the church is me! It’s great that a congregation can have a specific ministry for widows, but when the Bible says “the church” it’s talking about me and you as individuals that make up the church. We don’t wait for the church to create a ministry…we see the need and as part of the body of Christ we meet the need as best as possible.

Prayer
Lord, help me to see the needs around me that You want me to do something about. I don’t want to wait on someone to do something if I can do it. Let me be in-tune with You so my heart will break for what breaks Your heart.

S.O.A.P. I Timothy 4 Carlos Herrera

To  READ this chapter click here.











Scripture
1 Timothy 4:7
Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness.

Observation
We are given only a number days on this earth…we should be very wise as to what we allow our time to go to. We should spend our time and energy on spiritual fitness. Not just time, but energy. Giving spiritual things time is not enough…we need to give it energy and focus as well. It’s like going to the gym and spending time there but not really putting forth energy to train and get a real workout.

Application
I have to be  extremely intentional every time I open my Bible. I don’t want to read scripture out of habit or duty. I want to be fully alert and ready to meet my maker in the pages of scripture. I can’t just ‘do the time’ of reading…I have to put energy and interact with scripture – that’s why SOAPing is so important. It allows me to “spend my time and energy in training myself for spiritual fitness.”

Prayer
Oh Lord, thank You that You are concerned about our connection with You. That You have given us this amazing love letter (the Bible) to let us know how to do life with You. A life that will leave us full of You. In Jesus name, amen!