We’ve been doing this SOAP Bible reading thing for almost a month. How is it going? Is it helpful? Are you hearing God through the readings? What could we do to help you? I am looking for any feedback or suggestions, as well as any testimonies to how God is working through your Bible reading.
I’ve heard some stories already, I would love to hear more!
Pastor Norm
Maybe that’s the secret to success- not giving up!
I have not been very faithful this week in doing my scripture readings so it is good to hear that other people have down days also; not that this excuses me but it encourages me to get back to it.
I was introduced to the SOAP idea last year July by Pastor Paul McIllryth from the Mennonite Bretheren Church in Watterloo. (we were on vacation) He described how it was working for him and the result it was having on his reading the Bible ….I thought …..magine that ….a Pastor finding a new way to read the Bible. The idea appealed to me (and Elaine) so we took some of the materials that he had supplied to get us started and we tried it for the rest of our vacation. At first I was very faithfull in doing the devotion for each day but there also came days when I started to miss and even some weeks when all I got done was 1 devotional. But I did not give up because of these failures …..I found that when I re-tried and got started again, there was just a wonderfull sense of ….I might have failed here but God had never stopped, he was just waiting to encourage me to try it again. So now I go along and do the best that I can and to be as regular as I can, and I do still have many times when I don’t do very well. But remember ….never give up on God because he never gives up on you!
SORP (the modified version of SOAP):
I discovered SOAP this summer, at Chesley Lake church! I’ve modified it a little- and it works for me.
I’m currently working through Luke. I pick a section, usually a short one (4- 10 verses) and read it prayerfully. I also read the footnotes, and the footnotes to the footnotes. Then I write out a summary of what I’ve read (I think of that as my “S”) – it is amazing how helpful this discipline is (forces me to tighten my prose too).
Then I move to “observation” (“O”), or what I like to call “reflection” (“R”). Its amazing how many thoughts God gives me about a short passage.
I tried writing an application each time but found it too… discouraging? I move on to “prayer” and pray that the truths I’ve ingested will remain in me and that I’ll be able to use them/call upon them when needed.
To be quite honest I’ve done this 9 times this month- I guess that’s about twice a week. I’m going to try for 3 times a week in February. I’m trying not to be rigid about how often I do it or how many verses I read per time- that’s been my downfall in the past. I’m seeing its not about putting checkmarks on a list, but about really meditating seriously on a small portion of The Word and burying it in my heart as deeply as I can. Some days it comes easily and some days it doesn’t work as well, but I don’t feel discouraged…
I am really enjoying the discipline of doing a reading each day. On the one hand I have been faithful in doing each reading (not bragging, I HAVE to to post my reflections for each day), but I have not always done it as prayerfully as I ought to – more like a duty than time with the Lord.
I am also LOVING your feedback. Please keep it coming, I am hearing God speak through your comments and reflections. Don’t worry about whether what you write is deep or profound, just let it be sincere!
Still need to work on keeping my sermons brief, just like I’ve asked you to do in your posts. You are doing great, its a growth area for me…
Pastor Norm