Understanding the Bible, it’s as easy as S O A P
S – Scripture
O – Observation
A – Application
P - Prayer
S – Scripture
Jeremiah 29:11) - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares
the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and
a future.”
O –
Observation (What exactly does the Scripture say)
The Lord is speaking. He
has plans for you. Plans He only knows
about. Good plans. Prosperous plans to
bless you. His plans are not to harm
you. His plans will leave you with
hope. His plans offer you a bright
future. God wants to bless you.
A – Application (Apply it to your life)
(For me personally in 2003) I used to think I knew what God’s plans were and that He wanted to
ruin my every attempt at happiness. I believed that He would let me get so
close to happy and then He would put the hammer down and destroy any joy I
had. Pull the rug out from underneath my
world. My “life” had taught me this, and
when I first tried to memorize this Scripture I got hung up at the “not to harm
you” part.
I was 41 years old and for the first time in my life I began to
“think” differently and wonder,could I possibly trust Him and take Him at His
word? Or was this yet another
trick? Was this just a trap to get me to
let my guard down? So I stayed with this
particular Scripture for a long time and repeated it over and over until I
believed it. I now can say “I know the
plans God has for me are good, I may not understand them all but they are good,
because He is good.” God was not my
enemy and I had believed a lie for 41 years.
Today I can say the Lord told the truth, He has given me hope and a
future and transformed me from the inside with nothing less than the power of
His word. And that is what SOAP is all
about.
(Now write your own Application of Jeremiah 29:11)
P – Prayer (Ask the Lord for what you want)
Father, I come before you today with my heart full of peace and
joy knowing the One who has been the catalyst for change in me. Not change in my environment but true change
in my heart with a peace of mind that can only come from Heaven. I thank you and I ask you to continue to help
me on this journey you have prepared, and allow me to see You and Your will. Thank you for choosing me to be Your
child. I trust whatever you have in
store for my future, that it will bring me closer to You. Thank You.
(Now write your own Prayer to God)
Studying the Bible doesn’t have to be hard. Also I am
always a bit amused by people who say, “I can’t memorize”. Really? Fill in the blanks:
Winston takes good like a ________________ should. (Banned from TV in 1971)
How do you spell relief? __________________
Every kiss begins with ____________________
Nationwide is on ________________________
Great taste less _________________________
My bologna has a first name, it’s ___________
My point is that anyone can memorize and we do it all the
time. Advertisers know this, as the
commercials which prompted those 6 questions were/are played over and over on
your television. Memorizing them comes
down to one thing. Repetition. There is no other way to memorize them. Anyone looking for a quick, easy way for
Scriptures to fall into your head, I’m sorry to disappoint you.
The following Scripture is my back up to what I just said.
Romans 10:17 - “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into
it. You want change, then change what
you do. Add God’s word, which is life. You want the same old stuff, just sit in front
of your television and keep memorizing commercials.
I dare you to try to worry while you are memorizing Scripture,
you can’t do both. I know I’ve tried.
Now get to work and memorize Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
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