Tag: how to read the bible
Use the S.O.A.P.
I grew up in Iowa, and now live in Wisconsin. You might immediately think of food when you think of the Midwest. There is nothing in the country quite like Iowa corn-fed pork, best served at the Iowa State Fair. There is equally nothing like Wisconsin cheese, best eaten at a local county fair listening to polka music. It can get mighty hot in August at any fair in the Midwest. It’s likely you’ll clean up when you get home, after visiting the food tents and the animal barns. Make sure and use the soap!
As good as Midwestern cuisine can be at its prepared best, there is something that is even better and something that I crave even more. No matter where I live, what my means of making a living, or my season of life, what I desire above all is to know Jesus better and dwell with him. I want to sit at his feet, listening and learning. Being with Jesus has the dual effect of bringing great satisfaction, even better than a great meal of pork and cheese; and, feeling clean and refreshed, even better than taking a cool shower on a hot summer day (or a hot bath on a cold Midwestern winter day!).
One way of enjoying Jesus and connecting with the triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit, is simply reading the Bible every day and writing a few thoughts in a journal. Reading Scripture (especially out loud) puts beneficial thoughts in your memory. Writing your insights of from that reading into a journal presses the benefit even better and deeper not only into your mind, but into your soul.
I often use a simple method, S.O.A.P. as a means of learning from God. Just today, I wrote this in the quiet of the early morning. Come and see what the Lord taught me today….
S cripture – Luke 2:41-52, especially verse 45: “When they [Jesus’ family] did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and putting questions to them.”
O bservation – Jesus put himself in the posture of a listening learner. Yes, Jesus is God. Yes, Jesus is human. He needed to discover, develop, grow, and learn just like we do. At 12 years old, Jesus did not put himself in the position of pushing his identity on others. This practice of listening and learning served Jesus well throughout his earthly life.
A pplication – If Jesus found the need and created the time to be a listening learner, how much more do I need such a practice in my life? In today’s Gospel story, not everyone was happy with Jesus for doing this. His hunger for learning was misinterpreted by his family as disobedience. They were upset with him. Sitting at the feet of Jesus in the posture of listening learner is going to be sometimes misinterpreted by others who think you should be doing something else, be somewhere else, or be somebody else.
P rayer – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I fail too many times to sit at your feet and learn from your words and ways. Help me to faithfully carve-out time each day to be with you. And may this humble posture of a learner and grower translate into the whole of my life so that my faith will be strengthened, and others will be blessed; through your great and powerful Name, Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Just minutes a day being at the feet of Jesus can change your life for the better. Imagine if you did this every day, what your life would be like, how it would transform your relationships with others, and improve your outlook on your current situations.
Today is the day to either find that journal that is hidden away, or to go out and purchase a notebook or actual journal to start recording what the Holy Spirit is teaching you at the feet of Jesus. Maybe even stop and get an Iowa pork-chop and some Wisconsin cheese curds while you’re out.
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How Do I Read the Bible?
With New Year’s almost here, maybe you are instinctively considering a fresh start and new beginnings. It’s only human to think about having better health, both physically and spiritually. Showing up and spending time with me here in this blog is just one small, simple, and helpful way of walking step by step into the wonderful and gracious world of the Christian life.
What I care about for you is that you and I keep thinking about and practicing with deliberate patience the construction of our souls. The heart of that incredible adventure is exploring, discovering, and learning from the triune God himself – Father, Son, and Spirit. It is as simple as spending time at the feet of Jesus, and as complicated as engrafting spiritual practices into your busy life.
If you will make the decision to read Holy Scripture every single day this next year, even if it is only for a few minutes, you can look back at the end of 2018 and see with amazing clarity that you are a different person now than you were a year ago.
But where do I begin? The Bible isn’t exactly a novel to read from cover to cover. Rather, Scripture is a wondrous revealing of God’s workings in history designed to connect you with the person and work of Jesus Christ. And, I might add importantly, it is a compilation of books to be read over, and over again.
If Scripture leads us to Christ, then it only makes sense to start reading the first four books of the New Testament known as the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each has a similar yet unique perspective on the words and ways of Jesus, designed to help us connect significantly with God.
Now, if you choose to read a chapter a day, or even a few verses a day, you will begin to see your soul responding differently – a greater attention to others’ needs; a larger sense of peace; the realization that you are not alone in your struggles; and, a desire to love as Jesus did.
Yet, if you want to really get even more out of your time with reading the Bible, there is a way to press the benefits even deeper and larger into your soul with greater results. Just a few minutes of journaling your experience of reading the Bible amplifies and extenuates the construction of your soul and the enlargement of your heart. It’s like moving from driving in an alley to speeding on the freeway – there is no comparison, once you have done it for the first time.
Where do I begin journaling? What do I write? The most important dimension to journaling is to listen well to the Holy Spirit of God. This simple 4-part structure will help you connect, using the acronym S.O.A.P.
S is for Scripture. Choose the chapter(s) or verses to read, and write the passage in your journal. Read them over more than once, even several times. The goal is not to check off a list to a reading plan. The goal is to connect with God.
O is for Observation. Make just one observation from the reading. Is there something which really stands out to you? Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in what he wants you to see and observe in the reading. Simply write down the observation.
A is for Application. Continue asking the Holy Spirit to help you. How does God want you to apply this observation to your own personal life? Again, write down your application in your journal.
P is for Prayer. Write in your journal a simple prayer concerning the application you have gained.
Either short and succinct, or long and verbose journal entries are up to you. The aim is not length, but connecting with God in Christ by the Spirit.
In a subsequent post, I will give an example of this practice of reading and journaling. But, for now, just entertain the idea that you will read your Bible. You will not let it just sit on the coffee table, or collect dust on the bookshelf. You will make the time for it. You will carefully, deliberately, and divinely read it with God’s Spirit at your side helping you all the way. Begin today, even before the New Year, and start finding all that God has for you.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 