How to use SOAP

How do we cleanse our minds and become closer to God? By getting more like Jesus! How do I get more like Jesus? By reading and studying the Bible, together with prayer. We need to be washed, cleansed from the daily clutter. Soap gets rid of the dirt on our clothes, so let's use SOAP as a basis to cleanse our minds!

A lot of people don't know where or how to begin with Bible study. Hopefully this will give you a good idea and starting point.

Decide beforehand which scripture you are going to read. Read the passages with an open heart and allow Jesus to give you the words of encouragement, direction, correction and hope that you need.

PRAYER

WHAT IS PRAYER?

In Philippians 4:6 it says, Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and

supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.

Basically prayer is simply talking to God just like you would talk to your very best friend. God made us all unique and wants our love. He is our Father and loves us very much. Talk to Him, tell Him you love Him and thank Him for the blessings you do have. Prayer's purpose is to assist us in building our relationship with God. There is incredible power in prayer. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Our Problems

This is a picture taken from directly above these camels in the desert at sunset. It is considered to be one of the best pictures of the year. 

When you look closely, you can see that the camels are the little white lines in the picture. The black images you see are just the shadows!

Sometimes, our "problems" seem to be as big as the shadows, when really, they are only a little white spec. It depends on what perspective you choose to look at it from.

Are you good enough?

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was arrogant
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt

Eight Things That God Loves

In chapter 5 of the book of Matthew in the Bible, there is a sermon commonly called the Beatitudes. Jesus said that people were blessed when they have any of these 8 qualities. Being blessed speaks of receiving the ultimate in well-being and spiritual joy.

1. God loves those who are poor in spirit. This means they are humble, not prideful. They consciously depend on God and not on their own abilities.
   Their gift from God: They will receive the kingdom of Heaven.
2. God loves those who mourn. They are those that recognize their needs and present them to the One who is able to help them.
   Their gift from God: They will be comforted. 2 Corinthians 1:4 says that He is the God of all comfort who comforts us in our troubles.

Gideon

Adult Sunday School Part 9:  Gideon 

How do you go from rejection, bitterness, accusations and humiliation to arrogant and steadfast faith? How can any man go from the one extreme to the other? 

Just ask Gideon. 

For me he is an example of what can be done if you are touched by God - more than once. Many of us are touched by God and it stays a touch - and even soon disappears.

Do you hear the people sing?

I saw Les Miserables for the umpteenth time last week and was once again touched by the depth and complexity of the show and it's characters. Val Jean is the typical symbol of Grace & Freedom, where Javert is the Law and Bondage.  I just realised again that we can not judge people, because we do not know what their journey is about. How many of us will give someone who has wronged us a second chance, or more important, who will USE the second chance they get. 

As in my previous blogs, I say again: Do not let an encounter with God leave us untouched.

The secret of Christian living and victory

The most important thing for any person is to be transformed into the image of Christ. 

Romans 12 says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we might be able to know what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of good for our lives. It’s almost like living on a 30, 60 or 100 fold blessing. Good, acceptable and perfect. 30, 60 and 100. With the measure that we are transformed is the measure that we will move into the degrees of the levels of the will of God. 

The Caveman Experience

1Sam 22:1-2  And David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brothers heard, and all his father's house, and they went down to him there.  And every man in distress, and every man who had a creditor, and every man bitter of soul, gathered themselves to him. And he became commander over them. And about four hundred men were with him. 

In the passage above we discover that David went to hide in a cave when he was persecuted by Saul even though he defeated the bear, the lion and Goliath! He was destined to be the king of Israel and yet he hides in a cave. The people that gathered around him in the cave were not people of importance but people who were distressed, who were in debt and with bitterness pushed around by life and in a mess.

The Lamb of God

Adult Sunday School - Part 15 - Revised for Easter

The story of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God runs through the whole bible. It is not as if God suddenly realised he made a mistake by making man, and now he has to redeem him. He made plans for the redemption of man when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I will therefore talk very little about the manifestation of the Lamb in the New Testament and take the prophecies in the Old Testament to turn your eyes on the Lamb of God.