Category: SOAP Daily Devotionals
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Love and forgiveness for all
Scripture: Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Observation: As Jesus is being crucified, he asks God to forgive the very men who were putting him to death. And as he is doing this, they have no…
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His Covenant of Love
Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5 Then I said: “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, Observation: God loves us. The great and awesome god who created this earth loves us… and wants us to love him back and obey…
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Focus on HIM, not your troubles
Scripture: Luke 21: 34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. Observation: Jesus is instructing us to keep waiting and watching for his return. He knows that the troubles of the world can get…
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The non-post SOAP post
Today I’m having a tough time with my SOAP entry. The parables in the reading are fantastic, but I cannot seem to find that one nugget to share. My first thoughts were to just try again later today. I do that sometimes. And I hope to do that later today. Rather than just wait, I…
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Keep on praying
Scripture: Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? Observation: God wants us to continue…
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Serve because you are instructed to serve
Scripture: Luke 17: 10 So you, also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Observation: It is our duty to serve as servants, not to look for rewards for serving. Application: I must serve the Lord because I am instructed…
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Recognize discipline
Scripture: Ezra 5:12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. Observation: This was in a letter to King Darius explaining why the temple should be rebuilt and respectfully pointing out the decrees…
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He wants to heal your heart
Scripture: Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Observation: God cares for us and doesn’t want us to lose hope. He will heal our emotional scars. He does not want us to be filled with hurt and pain. Application: God cares for us completely. Not only will he provide the physical…
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Ask for it all… even the expected
Scripture: Zechariah 10:1 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone. Observation: I could be missing something here and this verse could be describing something deeper, but here is what I am…
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Don’t even think it
Scripture: Zechariah 7:9-10 9“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10Do not oppress the widow or fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’ Observation: God wants us to be truly kind to each other, considering others’…
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How is your eternal retirement account?
Scripture: Luke 12: 21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Observation: This verse comes after the parable of a rich fool. This man’s crop produced so much excess that he built bigger barns to store the excess and then decided to…
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Give careful thought to your ways
Scripture: Haggai 1:7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.’ Observation: God wants us to think about what we do and be intentional in our actions. Application: It is easy for me to get pulled in so many different directions by all the things that “need” to be done.…
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Sometimes things are hidden for a reason
Scripture: Luke 9: 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. Observation: Jesus was telling the disciples about his upcoming betrayal, although He did not reveal the whole picture to them at this…
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Serve, despite fear of wordly stuff
Scripture: Ezra 3:3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. Observation: These people had just returned from exile and were determined to rebuild the temple and serve the Lord. They chose to…
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Yearning for Him
Scripture: Psalm 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Observation: Wow. This psalmist really craves the Lord with all of his being. All of him cries out… that’s some serious yearning. Application: When I read something likes this I…