SOAP: Forgiveness

SOAP {Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer}:

ABOUT SOAP

After trying several churches in Indianapolis, and finally choosing one, then trying that church's Saturday evening service and being a little disappointed, we finally headed back to the Sunday morning service today, and I felt that the timing was not accidental. The church is in the midst of a series called 1277 Days, exploring the last 3-1/2 years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Today's message was on forgiveness, and I wanted to share my notes from the service.

• Our greatest need right now is forgiveness.
• Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:1-12 [NIV]
• For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 [NIV]
• Jesus didn't come as God to condemn us, but rather to release us from our debt (forgiveness).
• Jesus didn't just take away the circumstance of sin, he took away the heart of sin and gave us a new heart.
• Jesus set us free from sin so that we don't have to go back to our lives of sin.
• Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-35 [NIV]
• We must offer forgiveness without limit, just as God has done for us through His Son.
• Release the debt. Forgive it and forget it.
• Sometimes we forget what God has forgiven us of -- the depth of His forgiveness.
• We bear the weight of not forgiving those who wrong us. Forgiving others lets us move on and free ourselves as well as those we have forgiven.
• Unforgiveness is a mountain that we cannot overcome. By forgiving others as God forgives us, we -- like Him -- can move those mountains.

I found the message to be quite moving, as we often find it difficult to actually release others who have wronged us by offering them sincere forgiveness. Is there someone you should forgive today?

Your comments? 


Joe

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Moving Service

A great church service today. More on it later.

For the Glory of God

SOAP {Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer}:

FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE | ABOUT SOAP

SCRIPTURE
1-2 Joseph couldn't hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, "Leave! Clear out—everyone leave!" So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn't help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh's palace.

3 Joseph spoke to his brothers: "I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?" But his brothers couldn't say a word. They were speechless—they couldn't believe what they were hearing and seeing.

4-8 "Come closer to me," Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. "I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn't you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.

GENESIS 45:1-8 [MSG]

OBSERVATION
As God uses all things for His glory, those who serve Him will give Him all the glory.

APPLICATION
In a fit of jealousy, the son's of Israel (Jacob) sold their brother Joseph into slavery because he was his father's favorite. After several years in captivity, Joseph was elevated to the highest office in all of Egypt, second only to Pharoah, the king.

When Joseph's brothers, who thought he was probably dead, came to him in need of food, they didn't recognize him. When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, he did so with forgiveness. Rather than accusing them of selling him into slavery, he forgave them and gave God the glory for delivering him into such a position of great authority that he could be used to save lives -- even the lives of his own brothers and father.

Joseph had the authority to have his brothers locked up forever for what they had done to him, but instead he was gracious and forgiving and used his experience to glorify God.

Have I been so forgiving in my life that I would do such a thing? Have I used trying events in my life to glorify God?

PRAYER
Father, You have been very gracious to me all of my life. You have provided and protected all of my life. Lord, I am grateful for Your love and mercy. May I do all that I can to bring glory to Your name for all that You've done for me.

Your comments?

Joe

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Justice and Mercy

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

SCRIPTURE:

9 God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
10He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
11 God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
12 The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
13 "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
14-15 God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."
16 He told the Woman: "I'll multiply your pains in childbirth; you'll give birth to your babies in pain. You'll want to please your husband, but he'll lord it over you."
17-19 He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, 'Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."
20The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
21 God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them. GENESIS 3:9-21 [MSG]

OBSERVATION: God provides, even when we forsake what He has already given us.

APPLICATION:

It was the dawn of time, and man had everything -- complete dominion over the earth and all that inhabit it. A wife. Food. Comfort. And only one restriction: "Don't eat from this tree." How simple is that? To have anything and everything you want in all the world, with only one simple restriction -- not to eat from one tree. It's not like it was the only tree in the world, either. Just one tree. Everything else that man and his wife needed were provided for him by God with no limitations.

But man blew it, didn't he? The woman fell to the temptation of Satan, then man fell to the temptation of his wife, and they ate from the forbidden tree. And their eyes were opened. They could see. They could see their own nakedness, and felt shame. They could see the difference between good and evil (which, up to this time, was very basic -- as the serpent was evil, and everything else was good). They hid from God.

As if! He's all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and all-present -- as if you can ever hide from God anywhere (though many of us still try it today). But God found them, of course, cowering in clothes they had fashioned together from fig leaves. God found them, heard their case, and passed judgement, punishing all three of them.

Because man couldn't leave well enough alone -- because being blind to evil and having everything good in the world just wasn't good enough -- man has been cursed to toil his entire life to provide for his family (I think of this today as I write this from work on New Years Day, when so many are enjoying a holiday off). But even after passing judgement and punishment upon His greatest creation, God still provided. God, who had every right to be fuming mad over the disobedience of His children, made clothing for them from leather that was more durable and more comfortable than their fig leaves, and clothed them. He punished them, but still provided for them.

Justice and mercy. Grace and discipline. Do I show such love for my own children that I can punish them in one breath and, moments later, move on with life, loving and providing for them? Or do I hold a grudge against them (even for a very short time) for refusing to obey me? Can I be more like my Father in Heaven?

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to follow the example you have modeled so many times throughout eternity -- the example you modeled with Adam and Eve. Help me to be a better father to my children. To love them, provide for them, and correct them. To balance the scales of justice and mercy.

Send feedback to Joe by email, or by calling 317-644-6129.

Your comments?

Joe

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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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Your comments?

Joe

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Tolerance and Acceptance

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• S: "Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it's personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again,' forgive him." Luke 17:3-4 [MSG]
  
• O: God has commanded us to look out for each other and to offer correction to those who stray.
  
• A: In a world where the buzz words are tolerance and acceptance, it can be easy to get caught up in the buzz and be confused by those who say that it isn't Christ-like to be intolerant. But Christ never taught tolerance. Christ taught us to keep watch over each other, to offer correction to those who stray, and to forgive them if they repent. Granted, He told us that we should forgive them as often as they repent -- just as He does for us -- but He never told us to become tolerant of their sinful ways or to accept those sinful ways as okay. Tolerance and acceptance are the devil's way of convincing us that sin is okay. Tolerance and acceptance have no place in the Kingdom of God. With love and forgiveness there is no need for tolerance and acceptance.
  
• P: Father, the confusion that the devil has created with tolerance and acceptance has infected society so deeply that many have promoted it in Your name. Help Your people, Lord, to see through the confusion and to resist the devil's attempts to infect us with his talk of tolerance and acceptance. Help us to show love and forgiveness to all in Your name and to help others to find their way out of sin and into Your arms.
  

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Joe

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God In The Flesh

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Begotten, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3, 14 [NIV]
  
• O: Jesus has always been.
  
• A: I have a relative who doesn't quite understand the concept of a triune God. She doesn't understand how God and Jesus have co-existed forever. She doesn't understand how Jesus could simultaneously be the Son of God and God Himself. Doesn't understand why, then, He was born a baby by His mother, Mary. She was raised in one of those old, old religions that puts more effort into making it's own rules than it does into just living right by God. Today's version of the Pharisees. John the Baptist makes it very clear in the opening of his Gospel, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. When it all began, there was God and the Word. And not only was the Word with God, but the Word was God. Who was the Word? John continues, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Begotten, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Only one person has ever been referred to as "the One and Only Begotten." Jesus Christ. "Who came from the Father." Jesus Christ. "Full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, who came to dwell among man, became man so that he could die to once and forever pay the penalty for our sins. The ultimate price, paid by the Almighty. The Son of God. The Word. God in the flesh.
  
• P: Thank You, Father, for loving me so much that You would stoop to my level, become man, die for my sins, then arise and go to prepare a place for me to spend all eternity. You truly are an awesome God!
  

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Joe

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Familiarty = Contempt?

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (MSG)
  
• O: In church this evening, the message was on the Communion. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me." After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: "This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me." What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
  
• A: Our church partakes of Communion every Sunday. This can sometimes make the practice seem mechanical, and it can become very easy to forget what Communion is all about. Especially when Communion is taken individually rather than as a group, served by the passing of the serving dishes, as it was done once monthly in the Baptist church in which I was brought up. And if you have kids in church with you, and they see you eating crackers and drinking grape juice, they want some, too. It is all too easy to allow the ritual practice of something such as Communion to become meaningless to us. Have you ever really thought of just what that cracker (unleavened bread, actually) and cup of grape juice signify? Have you given consideration to not just the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but also the humiliating beating he suffered prior to being lead to Golgotha? The shredding of skin on his back as he was lashed with a whip. The blood spilled in the street before he was even nailed to the cross. And, of course, the brutal nailing of spikes through his wrists and feet, pinning him to the cross. His very suffering and death that led to our salvation. The bread: His Body. The cup: His Blood. The final sacrifice for our sins: His Life for ours. If you feel up to a compelling yet graphic depiction of Christ's suffering, try The Passion of the Christ.
  
• P: Father, Thank You not only for what You did for me, to save me from my sins, but also for providing me with a constant reminder of the cost You paid so that I won't have to.
  

Download the sermon audio here.

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Grace

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Psalm 51:8-13
• O: God forgives sin.
  
• A: The Bible says that we all sin. Everyone. You. Me. The President. Your Pastor. Even the Pope. No one is immune to sin. Just as we all have sinned against God, we likely have all wronged someone that we love or care about in some way. We've all made mistakes. It's, frankly, easier to make a mistake than not. And if you have children, well, how much of your time do you spend correcting your children for undesirable behavior? The good news: God forgives our sins. Just for the asking. And not only does he forgive, but he forgets them. It's as if that sin that we have confessed and asked to be forgiven was never committed. Can you imagine?! How is that for grace?! But how graceful are we as a society? With our mandatory sentencing, and statutes of limitations -- all things that are needed, unfortunately, to maintain an orderly society. But when was the last time you showed grace to someone you loved? When was the last time you said, "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal. Stuff happens." When was the last time you showed such grace to your own children, as God shows to his children every time we ask? My 4-year old son has been staying with his grandparents since Sunday. It was originally planned to be a two-night stay over, but the snow and ice that fell in Indianapolis on Monday night and Tuesday changed our plans. Due to road conditions, we've had to leave him there for another night. And it's still snowing outside. I have to work today, and my wife is supposed to go pick him up. I miss him. I called him yesterday and spoke briefly on the phone with him, but that doesn't make up for playing Scooby Doo with him on TV, or hide-and-seek, or being awakened when he crawls into bed with us in the middle of the night. It doesn't make up for having him here. And I've thought over these past few days of just how much time I spend correcting him for undesired behavior. Sure, even the Bible says we need to discipline our children. But to what extent? Can I try to be more understanding and more patient with my son? I think so. I think I must. I think I must show my children the kind of grace that God shows me on a daily basis.
  
• P: God, I miss my son. I know he's coming back to us soon, but that doesn't change the fact that I feel his temporary absence. And worse, this time of separation makes me realize that maybe I waste some of the time that he's with us by rebuking him for misbehaving. And I realize today that, instead of rebuking, maybe I should find a way to do more with him. Help me to do that, Lord. Help me to show the grace that You show me. And more importantly, help me to sustain that, not to just slip back into the old practice of correcting him constantly after he's been back home for a couple of days. Remind me, somehow, to show grace.
  

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