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Friday, December 5, 2008

Love Without Tolerance

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE. 0 Tolerance
SCRIPTURE:
And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. Ephesians 4:17-19 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: We do not need to be accepting to be loving.
APPLICATION:
I've been thinking a lot lately about tolerance, as it seems more and more that we're told that we should accept the differences of others. Not racial or ethnic differences, or gender differences, or differences in abilities, but differences in lifestyle choices. I could create an exhaustive list of Biblically inappropriate lifestyle choices that some today say we should be tolerant of. I won't.
The Bible, we're told, teaches that we should love everyone. That's the argument often used by those who would call for tolerance. But can we love a person without accepting his / her lifestyle choices? I do.
Just as God loves each and every one of us, but hates our sins, so can we love a person without being forced to accept his / her choice of lifestyle. The Bible says that we should not go along with the crowd. Don't settle for the sin that we know to be wrong. Love others, but be strong in our support for God and His Word. Tolerance is not the way to achieve harmony or peace. Tolerance will lead only to more tolerance, until we are in fact intolerant of those who are trying to follow Christ's teaching. I can love you without being tolerant of your sins. Christ showed me how.
PRAYER:
Father, help me to show Your love to all, without regard to anything. At the same time, help me to following the crowd and avoid falling in with the calls for tolerance of that which you teach is wrong.

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Mincing the Word

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE. The Word
SCRIPTURE:
One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They're only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren't above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents. Romans 16:17-18 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: God has presented us with His inspired Word in sixty-six books.
APPLICATION:
Written by God through those He selected to pen the Word, The Bible is a guide to the life God wants us to live. It is the owner's manual meant to accompany us through this earthly walk we call life. But just as any work can be quoted, paraphrased, snipped, altered, and used in ways that were never intended for purposes that have never been approved, The Bible has been, can be, and will probably always be misused by those who find justification for their selfish pursuits within a verse or two of it's pages.
It's an easy thing to pull out one verse and say that it is permission from God to do something that the full context makes clear was never what God intended. As our world rockets toward increased depravity and immorality, we will surely see the Word of God misused in ways we could never have imagined. Keep a sharp eye out and don't fall victim to those who would fictionalize the Word to meet their needs. They're only in this for what they can get out of it.
PRAYER:
Father, open my eyes to the ways of the world around me. Help me to see through the smoke and mirrors of those who would inappropriately invoke Your Name for their own sinful causes. Use me as a beacon, Lord, to share the Message as You have intended, to dispel the lies and illuminate the Truth. Your Words through me, Lord, not my own.

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Monday, November 10, 2008

A Quick Note About SOAP

NaNoWriMoTo those of you who are regular readers of the Daily SOAP, please be patient. I have been putting a great deal of focus lately (which means most of my free time) into my National Novel Writing Month project. I'm trying to write a 50,000+ word novel during the thirty days of November. This is my second year attempting this, and I have already surpassed last year's word count. I have a good feeling about the progress of this year's work. So bear with me for the next couple of weeks. The Daily SOAP won't be quite so daily throughout the month of November, but I promise it will be back to a regular schedule soon. Please stay subscribed.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

I put my faith and my wellbeing into the hands of God.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Prayer

Prayer

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
Today's SOAP is being pre-empted for the cause of prayer. Prayer for our nation. Prayer for the voters who will go to the polls today and cast their ballot for the next President of the United States. Prayer that we can save face as a country and not turn this election into a repeat of the 2000 fiasco. Prayer that we will vote smart and not emotionally. Prayer that we will all accept the outcome of this election, regardless of what it is, without rioting and violence. And prayer that the world will not look back on this day as the day that America began her great decline. 
Please, pray with me.

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Monday, November 3, 2008

Circle of Forgiveness

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." Mark 11:22-25 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: Forgiveness is required of us as well as given to us.
APPLICATION:
I've been praying pretty hard lately, praying that God is still in control and that whatever the outcome of Tuesday's election, God will use it to His greater good. I want to ask God to hand defeat to one candidate and victory to the other, but I know that God doesn't usually work that way (although I believe He could if He chose). God gives us the free will to make our own choices, then uses the situation for His glory.
I find myself frequently asking for forgiveness, asking for mercy, asking for healing, asking for guidance and direction, asking for some sort of intervention. Asking, asking, asking. And while I'm not the type of person to hold a grudge, I can't recall the last time I told someone "I forgive you." Is there someone in my life who needs to hear those words to know that I don't harbor any resentment? I don't know. Maybe I should be more aware of that in the future.
PRAYER:
Father, open my eyes if there is someone who needs to hear forgiveness from me. I know of no one whom I harbor a grudge against, but if there's someone out there, give me the chance to forgive them.

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Sunday, November 2, 2008

True Security

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—  he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,  nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—  he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121 [NIV]
OBSERVATION: The Lord watched over me.
APPLICATION:
In times of economic turmoil; of government upheaval; of uncertainty about what's coming next, I will not fear. I will not worry about what the world can do to me, for the world can do nothing to me of any consequence in the grand scheme of things. The Lord watches over me, and my soul is secure in His arms.
PRAYER:
Father, Thank You for Your wonderful gift of Salvation, for preparing for me a place in eternity outside the reach of this world.

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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Substance or Facade?

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer} FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.
SCRIPTURE:
6-8 Jesus answered, "Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the bull's-eye in fact: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn't in it. They act like they are worshiping me, but they don't mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy, Ditching God's command and taking up the latest fads." Mark 7:6-8 [MSG]
OBSERVATION: Our actions speak louder than words.
APPLICATION:
Do we profess to believe, but not live like believers? Do we claim to be Christians, but not model the values of Christ? Do we go to church on Sunday, sitting in the front for all to see, after a Saturday night of drinking and carousing? Do we aspire to love everyone as Christ commanded, but fail to love those who need our love the most? Do we really practice what we preach? Or are we too busy with the preaching to put it into practice?
In just days in America we will be selecting our next President. From two candidates who are in most ways polar opposites, we will be choosing the man who will lead America into the next decade -- the next era of our history. We can choose a typical politician, whose talking points are more in line with what's popular right now than with any real substance; a politician who has had very little time to show that he practices what he preaches; a politician who seems more focused on himself than on others. Or we can choose a man who has given his entire life in service to others; a man who has had the courage to stand alone when no one else would stand for what is right; a man who has lived the kind of life that he preaches.
The choice should seem clear, but to so many it isn't. So many people will choose their candidate based upon the thin surface they can see and disregard the true substance. We only have one chance to get it right.
PRAYER:
God, help Americans to choose wisely at the polls. Open their eyes so that they might see through the facade.

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