S.O.A.P

A friend of mine told me about how she uses SOAP to study scripture...huh? I know, I thought the same thing! 

It's actually an acronym that stands for Scripture, Observation, Application & Prayer! 

I love it! 

It helps me take one chunk of scripture, whether it be a verse or a chapter and break it down to apply to MY life!

I did one today and want to share it, so that you can see how to do it at home! It's a great way to have some quiet time with God and allow His word to soak into your spirit!

S Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

O If it is weighing me down to the point of not being able to carry it, go to Him! His yoke is easy and He is there to carry the burden. LEARN FROM HIM! Do what He does, lead like He does, live like He does. He is gentle and humble. Not mean, tough worn out and proud. He loves me and is waiting to help. He WANTS to give rest to my soul. When my soul is restless I can go to Him. Sleep is rejuvenation for my body, HE is rejuvenation for my soul. He will comfort me when I surrender whatever is weighing me down to Him.

A When my spirit is restless, PLEASE remember to sit with Him. Be still and allow him to pour into me with His never ending love. Go to Him and drop my burdens at His feet. He will carry it. His yoke is easy. Stop trying to hold it all up by yourself.

LET IT GO - SURRENDER!

SURRENDER

= 

Give up

Fall

Drop

Yield

P Lord,

Please remind me to surrender to you EVERYDAY. To take up my cross and remember it's not about me and I can't do it all. When it's from you, it's easy! I get to rest in it and enjoy it. It still takes work and perseverance but it is not a burden that I can't handle with You. When I feel that weight remind me to surrender it to you and know that you are carrying it for me. 

For His Glory

Genesis 15:1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him. "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great." Abram replied, "O, Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my house will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir." Then the Lord said to him, "No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir."

God promised both Abram AND Sarai a son. Sarai didn't believe she would have a son, she even laughed at the idea (Genesis 18:15). She was tired of waiting and took the situation into her own hands by having her servant, Hagar sleep with Abram in order to give them a son. Sarai eventually became jealous of Hagar and the whole thing made a mess and caused Hagar to run away.

Hagar ran away due to Sarai's mistreatment. But the Lord stopped Hagar and asked her a question.
Genesis 16:8 "Where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I'm running from my mistress, Sarai" Hagar replied.
The angel of the Lord said to her "Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority."

Sometimes God asks us to do things that we don't like, don't seem right or are just plain uncomfortable. He told Sarai to wait and Hagar to submit. Neither of which are easy things to do.

But one thing we have to realize is, it's not about our comfort, it's about His glory. 

Usually in the end His glory leads to being FOR us (Not against us) and He gives us, not necessarily what we want, but what we need to love, trust & glorify Him more. 

I don't know if you are anything like me, but I keep trying to run away from situations God has placed me in. Like Sarai, I doubted Gods promise that He gave me a year ago. I kept thinking I was wrong and would take matters into my own hands thinking I knew best. A year later, I am standing in the same situation with the same promise, scratching my head wondering when, how and... really God?

But God kept His promise to Abram & Sarai and in Genesis 21:1 at the time when it seemed most impossible, God gave them their own child named Issac.

Hebrews 10:23
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who PROMISED is FAITHFUL."

L,A,W,S.

LAWS

Ask yourself these questions:

LOVE

            ~Where do I get it?

                        Ex. (People, approval, success)

            ~Who do I get it from?

                        Ex. (men/women, friends, parents, kids)

            ~How do I feel loved?

                        Ex. (Affirmation, attention, sex)

ACCEPTANCE

            ~Who do I get it from?

                        Ex. (men/women, parents, people, Pastors, friends, boss)

            ~How do I get it?

                        Ex. (Doing a good job, Saying the right thing, agreeing w/people)

            ~When do I feel accepted?

                        Ex. (When I am included, when I succeed)

WORTH

            ~Who do I get it from?

                        Ex. (Men/women, parents, teachers, boss, job, kids)

            ~How do I measure it?

                        Ex. (Peoples opinion, success, strengths, looks)

            ~When do I feel most worthy?

Ex. (When I succeed, When I am wanted, When I am placed in a position of responsibility)

SECURITY

~Where do I get it from?

            Ex. (Money, job, family, spouse)

Who are you when you are not feeling loved, accepted, worthy or secure?

How you feel when you DON’T receive these from your sources?

What happens to your mood? Your day? Your week or year?

As humans we are created with a need, we are created to crave, and so we seek out whatever it is that we think will fill all of these LAWS (If you haven’t figured it out yet Love, Acceptance, Worth & Security spell out LAWS)

Each thing we look to is a fleeting source. We can’t rely on our spouse, kids, boss, job, performance or money because they are not a firm foundation. They are not a constant flow that will never run out. Our spouse will get tired of trying to make us happy. Our kids definitely don’t think about making us happy. You can have a crappy day at work, a bad hair day, or fail at something and then what? You feel bad, when you feel bad, you act on that emotion. You walk out your day feeling empty & useless.

But what if I told you there is a never-ending cistern that would meet ALL those needs, ALL the time? No matter what your circumstance, your identity is unchangeable.

His name is Jesus. Yes, for all you non-believers, it may sound strange to think someone you can’t see can fill that void in your soul. But believe me, He can.  (Phil 4:19)

God created our souls to crave Him. He has left His word here on earth as a template of how to live our lives, fitting our design perfectly. He tells us how He feels about us, how He sees us, what gifts He has given us & that we are already FULLY EQUIPPED. He sent Jesus to fulfill the LAWS & give us Grace in return.

We can walk in FULLNESS, in freedom (Gal 5:1), joy (Romans 15:13) and complete wholeness because when we accept Him into our lives, He gives us a new identity (2 corinth 5:17), HIS identity. (Col 2:10)

No matter how hard you try to achieve something from Him, it won’t work…because you already are!
You already are COMPLETE & PERFECT (Col 2:10)
You already are RIGHTEOUS (2 Corinth 5:21)
You already are FORGIVEN (Eph 1:7)
You already are FEARFULLY, WONDERFULLY MADE (Psalm 139:14)
You already are WORTHY (Col 3:12)
You already are LOVED (1 Thess 1:4)
You already are ACCEPTED (Romans 15:7)
You already are SECURE (Eph 1:13)
You already are COURAGEOUS (Eph 3:12).

Understand that your spirit is already whole. You don’t need to ASK Him for strength, peace, kindness, joy, love etc…He has already given it to you, receive it & walk in it. Just ask him instead, to show you how.

Now, ask yourself this question:

“How can I receive Love, Acceptance, Worth & Security from God Instead of the places I was getting them before?”

SURRENDER & SCRIPTURE.

Take a moment to surrender your heart to Him & look through scripture to seek out more places where God tells you about your identity in Him.

When you realize where you are getting your LAWS met, you can redirect them towards the person who was designed to fill them.

Start filling your heart with scripture, replacing that empty void with Gods truth. Don’t walk away without your gifts, receive them; He has given you many.

Replacing lies with truth.

God has been allowing some pressure on my spirit lately. Slowly but surely I am learning that when that happens I am to remind myself of His word.

I have a bad habit of grasping for the wrong things in order to satisfy my ache. I want some comfort, so I will go buy a starbucks (oh that may have hit a nerve for some of you coffee drinkers) or I think of a vacation spot far, far away that I could escape to for some peace. But the reality of it is that the only place I can get the comfort & peace I so wish for, is in the presence of Jesus.

I went through a tough time lately where I was allowing the voices in my head (and sometimes other people’s voices) to get me down. I believed that I wasn’t capable, and that I wasn’t good enough, which allowed the fear of being a failure & getting rejected to hold me back from what God has called me to do in life.

I was shrinking back, becoming a shriveled spirit. Not one that stands boldly in the face of battle, but one too tired to even bother.

That is not the life God wants for me, or you. We are to be risk takers, to fearlessly declare the gospel and stand firm while doing so, KNOWING who we are in Christ.

There was a gap for me between knowing in my head, and knowing in my heart. I just couldn’t grasp the fact that I already am. I already AM redeemed, I already AM righteous, and I already AM perfect & complete in His image! So lately I have been memorizing scripture to help remind myself of these truths. It’s amazing how it pops up just at the right time, either when I am in need of some encouragement, or when a friend is in need of some! I get to steal Gods wisdom and use it as my own!

When we live out of a place of fullness, we walk in freedom & confidence.

If we are seeking to be filled, we will grab at whatever is in front of us hoping it will quench our desire… and it never will.

The answer that helps me (helps, not helped…because I still struggle with it!) overcome my dreadful thinking is Scripture. God gave us His word to fight the enemy with.

Ephesians 6:10-20 explains it perfectly.

The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Take in His word; make it a part of you so that when you come up against battle, you have something to fight with. Grab hold of a verse every morning to be your anchor for that day. Then pick a verse to memorize and get into your heart monthly, in fact I'm going to name it your heart verse. Because you don't want to just communicate it to your mind, you want your heart to soak in it.

My verse today is Matthew 11:28

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

My heart verse to soak in is Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you will all joy & peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Two questions to leave you with:

What are you grabbing for? Scripture...or Starbucks? :)

And what will your heart verse be?

Empty your pockets

I feel like I just stumbled upon a jewel; a piece of secret information that has never been discovered. Although, in reality it has been said to me many of times in different ways by friends, Pastors & I have read it countless times in the bible. But today, it became clear. I am not the smartest of creatures and God has to repeat Himself numerous times in order to awaken my brain.

We need to develop the habit of emptying our pockets, so to speak. Because suddenly the extra weight of the "junk" we are carrying becomes too much & we break under strain. We must spread out our feelings before the Lord, prayerfully sort through, and ask Him to dispose of the trash. In doing so we will discover that we have exchanged our "spirit of despair" for a "garment of praise."

"

It couldn't have been said better.
I do this once in a while & feel free again then get so busy with life until the weight of it all crushes me. I sit in despair wondering where this all came from & what to do with myself.
He offers me His hand and I'm too ashamed to take it, or sometimes just too tired. I think if I take it work orders will be given & I can't bear anymore load.
But that's not what HE wants, He wants to sort through it with me. He wants to take my load so that I am free & weightless to run the race He has set before me.

You can't do that with the weight of your thoughts. Lay them out before Him today & let Him love you where you are, let Him fill you with the weightless love that He so lavishly pours out so that you can overflow on some crushed spirit He puts in your path today.
When you love others out of your own love, you get tired.
When you love others with His love, His wisdom, His words...it's a never ending flow.

Healing in brokenness

Today I went to the TB's meeting at 7am. It's a group of women that meet once a month eager to hear Gods word. Each month we have had the privilege of listening to amazing people like Lysa TerKeurst, Kelly Hubatka, Amy Corbett, Faith Hill. Today we had Lisa Shea. I had no idea what I was in for with Lisa, she talked about Spiritual gifts & I was somewhat guarded but open to listening. I was guarded because I was still on the fence about some of them, she calls them the "uncomfortable spiritual gifts" Things like prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, & so on. Even though they are mentioned in the bible, you don't hear of them too often in our day. But God still gives these gifts to people. We just hide them because we are too embarrassed of what people will think. Lisa said "When God gives us gifts & we choose not to open them, it grieves Him. He doesn't give them to us FOR US...He gives them to us for others! So that others can see Him through us & have hope."

Well as guarded as I was in the beginning of the meeting, by the end I was balling like a baby, snot running down my nose, tears that I couldn't stop & I felt embarrassed sitting in a room full of women, completely broken without being able to hold it together...AT ALL. To be vulnerable with you for a minute, I have been fighting to get out of a slump. I feel like I have been stuck in a hole for a long time, empty, drained, hardly any energy & just couldn't muster up the strength to get out. I had tried climbing out with all my might & kept falling back in, only digging myself in deeper by pulling all the dirt on top of me. It's a daunting place to be when you feel like you are in a hole & can't get out yourself. 

Isaiah 41:10

"So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

When people around you are saying "Speak it & you'll believe it"  or "go through the motions till you get it back" It just feels more like I'm trying positive self talk to give myself a kick in the rear n get back on track...sometimes that helps, this time it didn't. I had nothing I could say to myself that was helping; no sermon I could preach to myself in the mirror, nothing I could read that was helping; no scripture, no self help book. There was nothing I could DO that was helping, nothing anyone could say to me & no amount of worship music that I sang at the top of my lungs helped. I went to Church every week, I read scripture every morning, I would pray, I would cry...nothing.  I asked my Pastor the other day how he handles it when he isn't feeling it and still has to bring a message to the people every week? He said to me:

"God's truth is still Gods truth, even when you're not feeling it..."

I thought about that for a couple days. It's true, didn't get me out of the hole...but it reminded me that God is faithful, He won't leave me or forsake me, that this is just a season & I will be out of it eventually.

But God :) (My two favorite words) did something amazing this morning... Lisa prayed for people to be released from a crushed spirit...that's where I lost it. I have had such a heavy heart, crushed spirit, stuck soul & not known what to do to get out of it. I have been struggling big time. I had times where I would seek God with everything I had & thought I'd got back on track...and then the heaviness would hit me with a vengeance. It still may...but I feel differently about it this time. I finally felt like this morning broke something in my spirit. There is healing in being completely broken. I am grateful. I'm not sure how God quite heals a spirit... but He does. If someone asked me, I couldn't tell them how. But I just experienced it. His ways are higher than my ways... I will not understand how, when or why He does things...but I'm grateful. 
 I thought that maybe I am going through this at such an extreme measure so that when I hit something tough later down the road I can remember this time & REMEMBER that God IS faithful. I can then pass that hope to others who are struggling. He IS faithful, always has been, always will be. He doesn't change. 

I'm sure there will be ebbs & flows of this season. There is a lot of things God is working out in me where He has only recently scratched the surface. But I will remember that He is faithful & no matter what I'm going through, He will be with me through it, He has purpose in it, & for it...He will not waste it. 

Hebrews 10:23

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promised is faithful"

Are you living your life as an empty shell?

So as I sit here in frustration with why I can't do what I "should be able to do" & after reading a few blogs this morning, God tugs at my heart in the way that only He can do.

I realize (and have realized MANY times before, but somehow keep coming back to this) that I sometimes put so much expectation on my self and set the bar so high by comparing myself to others, or by looking way out into the future & thinking I need to be "there" now. (Which, in running my organization is a gift of vision. In my personal life it's a curse of perfection) I look at those around me & all they have accomplished & expect myself to be at their caliber of expertise. Then try to live like them, get frustrated & beat myself up when I get overwhelmed, can't do it & fail. That doesn't do anything but make me want to not bother trying at all, EVER! When in actual fact, what I'm doing is trying to live a life far past the work God has done in me. That causes the feeling of "being fake" because I am not truly being who I AM in Christ. I am too busy trying to be like someone else, or too focused on putting on a front of who others think I "should be" as a Christian. In reality, I'm just not there yet. Yes God has done some amazing things in my life, I'm not where I used to be... But I'm also not where I'm going to be either.

Isaiah 43:18

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

There is much work to be done in all of us & we don't help that process by looking back & staying stagnant in our feelings of never being good enough, never living up to certain expectations (that goodness knows WHO sets for us.) 
Its OK to strive to be the best we can be, put our best foot forward & walk in faith that God can overcome our sin & bad habits. But it aint gonna happen overnight. We will always sin to some extent; we are human, not Jesus! Don't allow that to cause you to put on a show and live as someone you are not in an empty shell in order to please whoever you are standing in front of. Put your mess on the table & allow Jesus to work through it, pulling out the good parts that can be restored & getting rid of the things that don't do us any good. Then it's your choice to "get up and walk" forward, or stay & wallow in it. I am sometimes reluctant to be vulnerable & spend those times with Jesus where He wants to work out my junk...because it's not easy; its downright heart wrenching & exhausting. But the end result is worth it. 

Depending on the situation it's not always about cutting something out of your life altogether either; that would be doing it in your own strength. Its learning to live with it and using that struggle to push you towards Christ & allowing him to mold you and shape you so that your responses come directly from a heart restored by Him & eventually your responses will be sincere & those things that you once struggled with, will fall away. Then, you will look back & realize that you are becoming a new creation in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"