GREAT Love

Simply reading, without doing, makes the Bible nothing more than a literary work passed down through the ages.  What makes it come alive and proves it is active is when we apply it to our lives, allowing it to mold and shape us into all God intended.  Life is busy and hectic and crazy, but choosing the discipline of daily devotions brings a calm that otherwise is hard to find.  In order to find the time, or make the time to do just that, I often fall back on the SOAP method of journaling.  SOAP is an acronym that stands for Scripture Observation Application and Prayer.

Here's a sampling of today's journaling.

Reading for the day: Lamentations 3-5 and Revelation 15

Scripture- "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." -Lamentations 3:22-23

Observation- The storms and trials of life come quickly and beat heavily, the war against us has been waged and fires ravage threatening to destroy, but because of His great love we will not be devoured!  Because His compassion for us knows no bounds and His kindness towards us has no limits.  We can walk in security knowing we will be kept safe and unscathed.  We can look eagerly forward to each new day knowing His everlasting faithfulness eagerly awaits us.

Application- No longer will we be people filled with dread, but filled with hope.  He is a good God who delights in us!  He is an all consuming God who lavishes His love upon us!  The liberating freedom that brings makes us unstoppable.  May we rest assured that He will hide us in the refuge of His wings.  That like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we will be untouched by the flames.  Like Daniel we will walk freely out of the den of lions.  Like Jonah we will escape the dark belly of a whale.  Because of His great love!

Prayer- God,
Thank you for your deep, vast, wide love for me!  Thank you for your never ending compassion and your unending faithfulness!  Forgive me for forgetting the magnitude of all that is to me.  Help me to rest solely in your love.  Help me to rely solely upon your love.  Help me to reveal you to others solely based upon your love.  Your love never fails, it never ends, it never runs out.  May I find peace, solace and security in that.  Make all I am be all you want me to be!  Make me a world changer!  Make me a history maker!  Make me into the woman you dreamt into design once upon a time!