SOAP–Luke 7–Your faith has saved you

Scripture: Luke 7:50

And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Observation:

Jesus spoke directly to this woman about her faith and her specific spiritual need. I’ve always loved this passage and how Jesus addressed this sinner of a woman directly and specifically, without heed to what the others around him thought of that.

Application:

Oh, that I would remember that Jesus speaks to me in the same way! I would say that I’ve been having a rough time drawing close to God through my own preoccupations with the everything else of life; mothering, keeping house, keeping sanity, growing another baby…the list goes on. And yet, in the midst of all that, Jesus speaks to me directly and specifically. Will I listen??

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for being gracious to us and desiring to speak directly to each one of us, including me. Father, I pray you would help me STOP and LISTEN to what you are speaking into my life, directly or through others. Thank you that you constantly draw me closer to you, help me to reciprocate. Amen.

 

~S

SOAP–Luke 6–PRAY

Scripture: Luke 6:12

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

Observation:

Again? Really? Yep, really! Jesus is showing his commitment to prayer over and over in Luke so far.

Application:

I am still feeling very convicted by my lack of time committed to prayer; by my need to pray; by my need to make the choice to spend time praying. With that, I’m headed to bed even though I’m a day behind. Getting up early is not a choice I *want* to make. And yet, I do. You understand.

Prayer:

Father God, I pray that you would help me to make the choices that are required to have the time to pray. I thank you again that you desire me to spend this kind of time with you. I thank you for fellowship with a friend this morning. I pray you will wake me up again tomorrow morning and help me to make that hard choice to get out of bed so that I can spend time with You.

~S

SOAP–Luke 5–Withdraw to Pray

Scripture: Luke 5:16

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Observation:

When Jesus got overwhelmed by his followers, he would withdraw. He put a priority on getting away to pray to his Father.

Application:

Before life gets crazy, and everything else gets in the way, I need to put that same priority on prayer and spend time with my Father. I have a good thing going on Monday mornings with some friends; we get together at a coffee shop at 6 am just to pray for our kids and our week. We pray individually, but meet up so we have some accountability. Now to make that more than once a week…

Prayer:

Father, thank you that you desire to spend individual time with me. Thank you for the example of Jesus and that he put a priority on spending time with You. I ask that you would help me make good decisions in this area and choose to spend time in prayer instead of other things that I could be doing, other distractions that pull at my attentions and my time. Amen.

~S

SOAP–Luke 4–Serve God alone

Scripture: Luke 4:8

And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"

Observation:

Jesus was rebuking the devil as he was being tempted. What stood out to me about this verse was “him only shall you serve.” Not anyone else, just God.

Application:

I was thinking about who or what else I serve. I can tell you right now, I don’t serve only God. I get pulled into traps of idolatry, pleasing others, and I’m sure a host more. Freeing myself from those distractions is so hard! The other thing I’ve been struck with, however, thus far in reading Luke, is the number of times the Holy Spirit is mentioned. What a great reminder; I’m not alone. Because of Jesus, the Spirit is with me all the time and I don’t have to try to figure this out by myself. Halleluiah!

Prayer:

Father God, I desire to serve you only, but I get so distracted. I pray that you would help me listen to your Spirit who lives inside me so that I can focus on serving you more and other things less. Thank you for that Spirit, and what an amazing gift and guide it is in my life. Amen!

~S