S.O.A.P.

Daily S.O.A.P Blog

Transformation, Not Talent

Scripture
Ezekiel 29:19-20
“Therefor this is what the sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army. I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts, because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.” 
Observation
Nebuchadnezzar was an evil, wicked king…and yet God accomplished his purposes through him. Not as a stamp of God’s approval on him, but because God will accomplish that which he has purposed. The almighty God uses righteous men and wicked alike. The question of whether God is using someone, cannot be used as a gauge of God’s approval on their life. 
Application
I want to be used by God. But more than that, I want God to be glorified in me. I don’t want to merely receive earthly rewards for my unwitting service to God–I want to receive eternal rewards for a life fully surrendered to God. This must come from a place of prioritizing the relationship I have with God, not just focusing on the things I am doing “for” God. This week, I need to be intentional to surrender my heart to God, and daily spend time in His presence. I need to daily allow him to shape me and transform me.
Prayer
God, thank you that you are the sovereign Lord, and you will accomplish the things that you purpose to do. I surrender my life to you, and desire for you to be glorified in me. May you be glorified in the transformation you are accomplishing in my heart, and not merely in the tasks that I accomplish with my hands. 
 
Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

The Covenant

Scripture
Psalm 111:4-5
“He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; He remembers his covenant forever.” 
Observation
Amidst all the judgement and destruction we’ve been reading in Ezekiel and Revelation, this psalm stands in contrast as a reminder of the compassion of the Lord, and of his grace. He takes his covenant with us seriously! …and he expects us to do the same. 
Application
This passage gives me so much hope and confidence. God went to extreme lengths to establish his covenant with me, and he will go to extreme lengths to uphold it. When he pours out his blessings on me, he remembers his covenant. When he disciplines me, he remembers his covenant. Though my attention span is short and my heart is imperfect, his covenant lasts forever and his heart toward me is full of grace and compassion. How could I ever reject that?! How could I ever want to do anything but the things that will please him? I choose to remember my covenant with God. Not merely to avoid his anger, but to express my love for the God who chose to love me.
Prayer
God, thank you for your covenant with me, and thank you that you are unchanging. Thank you for being gracious and compassionate to me! I choose today, and commit every day, to also take my covenant with you seriously. Not merely out of fear…but because you love me, and I love you. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

New

Scripture
Ezekiel 18:31-32
“Rid yourselves of the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! 
Observation
Even in their sin, the Israelites maintained a self-righteous attitude which caused them to question God’s justice. God patiently explained his justice to them, and then concludes with this plea for repentance. His hope and his desire is not to destroy. If God wanted to, he could snap his fingers and his infinite power would be unleashed in infinite judgement. Instead, God patiently endures our self-righteous arrogance and keeps trying to turn our hearts back to him. 
Application
“Why will you die, Israel?!” It must genuinely bewilder and sadden God to see people reject his love. Even so, he is patient. I don’t want to sadden God! I want to welcome his love with gratefulness instead of arrogance. I want to live life confidently in the new spirit and new heart he has given me. I want to stand firm in a lifestyle of repentance, secure in his righteousness and not my own.
This week, I choose to live in Christ.
This week, I choose to walk with Him.
This week, I choose His ways and not my own.
Prayer
God, thank you for your patience with me! Thank you that you choose to love me. Help me this week, to walk in humility and repentance. May my life bring you joy and not sadness, as I walk daily in you with the new heart and new spirit that you have given me! 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Just Wait

Scripture
Revelation 6:11
“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” 
Observation
I don’t like waiting patiently-particularly when something terrible is happening. These martyrs of Christ were told to wait until others met the same fate as them. There’s not even any detail given of exactly ‘why’ they had to wait, just a statement that it was necessary. 
Application
God has a bigger strategy than I can glimpse from my limited perspective. All I can truly see are my experiences, my hurts, my wounds, and my surroundings. I want God to step in and give me justice now. Sometimes God’s response is “Wait! Just wait a little longer!”  I have to trust that he is still accomplishing the things that he desires, and that in the end he will be glorified. I have to submit my limited understanding to his limitless perspective. 
Prayer
God, may you be glorified in my life. Even when I have suffered and endured injustice, may I trust your sovereignty and your timeline, and wait patiently with full confidence that you love me and are accomplishing your purposes through my life. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Serious Business

Scripture
Ezekiel 14:21
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments – sword and famine and wild beasts and plague – to kill its men and their animals!” 
Observation
We rarely talk about God’s judgement, without also talking about his mercy. These chapters are heavy on judgement, and light on mercy. Even the limited mercy that we do see, seems to exist solely for the purpose of vindicating God’s judgement! 
The wages of sin is death. Always has been, always will be. God hates sin. Always has, always will.
Application
These chapters are a sobering reminder to me, to take sin seriously. We walk in God’s grace, covered by the blood of the lamb – but that doesn’t mean that we should treat sin casually, or lightly. I can only understand the scale of God’s mercy, when I glimpse the true force of his judgement.
This week, I need to see things from God’s perspective. I need to hate sin. I need to detest ungodliness. I need to get serious about submitting myself to his lordship. Only by seeing things from his perspective, can I truly appreciate all that he has done for me.
Prayer
God, thank you for your holiness! Thank you that there is not even the smallest measure or hint of corruption or impurity in you. Help me to treat sin as seriously as you do. Help me to take seriously your judgement and your grace. Help me to understand the unfathomable blessing of your patience and your mercy toward me! Help me to love you enough in return to make decisions that honor you- and never take Calvary for granted. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Fully Known

Scripture
Ezekiel 8:6, 11:19
“And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing–the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”
“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” 
Observation
God knows all, and sees all. He sees those that he loves, and he sees that which is repulsive to him. His patience is immense, but willful, wanton, continual, unrepentant sin will drive his presence from his sanctuary. 
Application
God knows my heart inside and out. There is nothing that I can hide from him. He no longer lives in a temple, but instead his spirit is within me. If my inmost heart is divided and acting in opposition to God, then I cannot expect his presence to remain. I must choose to allow him to strip away the division within me, and anything that would pull me away from him. I must be his, and I must allow him to truly be my God.
Prayer
God, create a clean heart in me! You see straight through me, and there is nothing hidden from you. Thank you for your patience with me! May I never drive your spirit from my heart, but rather submit to your perfect will, as you remake me into your image. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Seeing God

Today’s SOAP journal is brought to you by James Begley.

Scripture
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Observation
I love it when God reminds us of who He is. It’s so easy for me to just live my life and my own actions have their own consequences and that’s that. There is so much more that is going on all around us and if we don’t have the proper perspective, we will miss it. How wild could my life be if I’m super connected to the One who is, was and who is to come? If I’m bored at this point, it’s because I’m not looking at the right things or plugging into the right source. What am I doing with my life if I’m not making the most of this HUGE advantage? 
Application
Make God a priority. See what He can do with me, where He can take me and how He can use me. 
Prayer
Lord, help me to see You for who you really are in my everyday life. Transform me into someone that can do your will to the fullest of my capabilities! 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Thirst

Scripture
Psalm 143:3-6
“The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.” 
Observation
David was in a dark place. He was discouraged, defeated, weak, and overcome. But instead of focusing on his current circumstances, he instead chose to meditate on the things of God. Instead of focusing on his discomfort, he focused on what God had done. He could not see what God was currently doing, so he meditated on what God had already done in the past. Instead of focusing on solving his current problem, he fully surrendered to God and invited God into the middle of the mess. 
Application
Challenges hit, and discouragement happens. Sometimes there is no clear solution for the present circumstance. When I feel overwhelmed and defeated, it’s time to stop struggling to find my own solution and invite God into the mess with me instead. I may not even be able to understand what God is doing-but I can choose to meditate and focus on what God has already done–and trust that the God who did those things back then is the same Father who is willing to step down into the pit of mud with me and make His power known again.
This week, I need to invite God into every situation and every conversation.
Prayer
God, thank you for being present through every season of life. Help me to focus on you, instead of looking for my own solutions. I invite you into every challenge, every battle, and every struggle in my life- and I choose to fully surrender my heart to you. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Imitate

Scripture
3 John 11
“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” 
Observation
Evil is the natural state of my heart-and without seeing God, I will do what is evil. Seeing God is more than just casually observing him passively from a distance. When I truly glimpse his majesty, his righteousness, his holiness, his truth…it cannot help but impact the state of my heart, and the decisions I make.
I cannot be saved by my actions, but my actions reveal the state of my heart. He is God, and I am not. But when I truly see him, I can choose to imitate him, and allow him to transform me. 
Application
I am sinful and imperfect, but I can choose. I can choose to see God, or I can choose to look everywhere else besides him. I can choose who to imitate. Imitations are never as perfect as the original, but I can choose to imitate God. I can choose to let him daily transform my heart through the decisions I make, as I imperfectly imitate my father. My actions don’t save me, but they do reveal me.
Today, I choose to imitate Christ. I choose to let him be revealed in me.
Prayer
God, thank you for allowing me to see you! Help me not to casually observe you, and remain unaffected by the process. Help me to imitate you in the words that I say and the decisions that I make, and may you be revealed in me each day. 

Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/

Seek First

Scripture
Jeremiah 38:16-17
“But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.” Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel says: “If you surrender to the officers of the King of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.” 
Observation
Why was Zedekiah’s oath to Jeremiah a secret? It reveals something in the heart of the king, that he was concealing this conversation with the prophet from his own officials and people. The kingdom was under attack by the Babylonians, but the king was more concerned about the reaction and opinions of the people around him.
Jeremiah told him that his life could be saved, but it would require a shift in his thinking. Instead of making decisions based on fear of what the people would think, he needed to get a lot more concerned about the impending judgement of God in his life. 
Application
It’s easy to let my thinking and my motives get twisted around. It’s easy to slip into the trap of making decisions based on fear of what people think. This passage challenges me to take a hard look at my motives and choices. If I am making decisions based on anything other than God’s guidance, destruction will be the result. Even when I have incurred God’s judgement in my life–there is still mercy, if I submit to his discipline and align my heart with him. I must always fear God’s displeasure more than the criticism of man, and seek first his approval rather than the approval of others.
Prayer
God, help me to align my heart with yours, and surrender to your authority in my life rather than being ruled by fear of others. Even when I experience your discipline, help me to run to you instead of running away. Thank you for your mercy, your love, and your truth. 
 
Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://testing.newhopelegacy.com/soap/
Back To Top