Thank you for joining me for the fifth installment of our Out of the Shallows devotional series. This is a Scripture study using a method that can help us to take a ‘deeper dive’ into Scripture using the acronym SOAP.
‘S’ is writing down the part of scripture that kind of jumps out at you, or seems to have meaning to you.
‘O’ is to observe what it is really saying, the deeper meaning or truth. What do you think God is telling us?
‘A’ is for application. How does it apply to your life? What can you do differently in light of this truth?
‘P’ is for prayer. What do you want to tell God, or ask Him to help you to do about this?
Check out the previous Scripture studies in this series here Out of the Shallows – Go the Extra Mi, Lighten Your Load, Sufficient Grace and Lacking Nothing.
Today’s Scripture is from the Gospel of Matthew:
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven. Jesus, in Matthew 5:14-16
S – You are the Light of the World…that you may glorify your Father in Heaven
O – God made each of us to be a light in this world, not just to ‘get through’. You are here for a reason, you have a God-given purpose and an assignment! Everyone’s assignment is ultimately the same – Glorify God in all that you do.
What does this mean and how do we do this? Well, we glorify God by honoring him with praise, worship and admiration. And when we know that all good gifts come from him and all our talents and abilities are from God too, we use them in ways that honor him: Positive, unifying, helpful, caring ways.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
A friend made the comment that ‘praying ceaselessly’ as the Apostle Paul tells us to do seemed impossible. ‘How am I supposed to pray all day long?’ My friend thought. Until it occurred to him…: “If I am using the gifts God gave me to help others in some way, that is a form of praying.” I found this to be a wonderful revelation! So we really can ‘pray ceaselessly,’ and glorify God in the process, if we consider what He would want us to do every step of the way, every single day.
WWJD, anyone?
A – Sometimes I need to stop overthinking things and just do it. If I feel God is calling me to do something, I just need to “Christian Up” and do it! As Joyce Meyer says if you were wrong, or it doesn’t work out, God will redirect you. I must be brave in the face of anticipated criticism and scoffing. Put my pride aside and do for Jesus a tiny fraction of what he’s done for me.
P – Lord, thank you for this Simple Truth. Simple, but not always easy. Help me to not complicate it. Help me to forget myself, forgive others and selflessly and courageously do whatever you ask of me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now it’s your turn! Use the above Scripture verse, or find one that speaks to you and use this simple method to get a little bit more out of your Bible reading. There are no rules, do what feels comfortable and just jot a few brief notes, if you’re not into keeping a journal. (But I promise, you won’t be sorry if you do.)