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Using S.O.A.P. Method For Bible Study

January 18, 2011 by · 6 Comments

We have started  2011 at New Journey Church Jacksonville by setting a goal for all member to read through the bible in a year.  I wanted to do more than read so I started searching for bible study methods I have not used before.  I came across the S.O.A.P. bible study method and thought I would share it a little here.

S. Scripture – Read the scripture you have chosen for the day or that period what ever you are doing.  Take your time and really read not skim.  Pick out verses that speak to you or ones you would like to dig deeper into.

O. Observe – Think about what you have read.  Think about the people, what would they see, feel, smell, or whatever you want to add to their experience.  Write these observations down in your own words.  I like to write like I am writing to my second grade son.

A. How does it Apply - Three questions you can ask from what used to be http://thetwitterbiblestudy.com/ but is now at Greg Surratt are

What did you learn about God?

What did you learn about yourself?

What did you learn about life?

Any question that can help you apply what you learned to your life.

P. Pray - Pray that God can help you use what you learned, teach others, and direct your life.  Listen and just take time for Him, not just you.

image used under cc2.0 license from flickr.com user  http://www.flickr.com/photos/modernemily/

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Do You See Yourself As A Servant?

January 17, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Luke 17:10b says, “When you’ve done all you should, then say, ‘We are merely servants, and we have simply done our duty.’”

I love to serve.  I also love to be served.  I think I would fit right in with Jesus’ disciples when they asked to sit at places of honor in his kingdom.  This is a hard scripture to swallow as an American.  We live in the, “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”  Where everyone’s a winner because we can’t make anyone feel bad.  But in the end, the more we give (or lose) of ourselves, the better off we are.

So the next time you decide to berate the girl taking orders at Wendy’s because your order is taking to long (Sorry I just watched this happen so it is fresh in my mind) think about what it means to serve  her while she is serving you.  We need to remember that in reality we deserve nothing, and will have nothing when we are gone.  Give back what you can while you are here, even if it is just a smile for a cashier.

 

image used under cc2.0 license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/

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Great Customer Service

January 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I shop at Publix for a reason, but yesterday proved my loyalty.

I had to run in and pick up two cans of corn and a twelve pack of coke’s(In the south small “c” coke’s means any canned soda).  I saw a sign that said,  ”Get these chips free with purchase of 20pk or larger Coke products” so I picked up a 20pk and the chips and headed for the checkout.  When the cashier scanned the two items she told me I needed a coupon to get the chips free.  Upon hearing this a manager and the grocery bagger both rushed off to find the coupon so I could get the item free.

Having worked in the customer service industry for fifteen years I know it is the little bit extra that makes the difference in good and great customer service.  Publix has alway provided great customer service so they always get my business first.

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Do You Hunger And Thirst After Real Righteousness

September 21, 2010 by · 2 Comments

Wow! Steve that’s a great question, you may be thinking to yourself.  Of course, you could be thinking that’s a stupid question why is he asking it?  My reasoning is this, I have been asking it to myself more and more recently.  Lukewarm.  In Crazy Love, Francis Chan gives an overview of what a lukewarm Christian looks like. I think I fit into several of his descriptions, and that bothers me.  As I was reflecting over the last couple of weeks, this verse kept coming to my mind.

Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, because they will be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)  This is not some kind of false righteousness.  This is not the piety of a person that wants to look good to hold his or her job. This is not self righteousness that proves you are better than everyone else.  THIS IS NOT A SUNDAY MORNING RIGHTEOUSNESS.   This is righteousness that hurts.  This is righteousness that gives.  This is righteousness that shares in the lives of others, not because they are our friends, but because they need to see Jesus at work.

What is real righteousness?  Real righteousness is seeking the face of God and his will for your life. Trusting in Jesus and letting him guide and direct you.

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

Long for God in all you do. Brother Lawrence in The Practice of The Presence of God says,

“I make it my priority to stay in His holy presence, wherein I keep up a simple attention and a fond regard for God, which I may call an actual presence of God.”

Brother Lawrence wanted to see the face of God in all he did.  Whether it was peeling potatoes or washing dishes, he sought God. If we diligently seek him we will be rewarded by him.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

Do You Hunger and Thirst After Real Righteousness?

It is not easy, but it is simple.  If you came to Christ late in life like I did you have spent many years thinking about things other than God.  You have put many things in His rightful place in your life so it will take time to learn to love him as we should.  If you don’t know Christ I urge you to ask him to show himself to you.  That is the best place to start.  If you have asked Jesus to come into your life then you can start by asking him to help you love him more.  Don’t force it, because when you fail you may give up.  Just relax and accept that you may stumble and possibly fall, but if you truly hunger and thirst after him you will be rewarded.

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Innovation Breeds Complaints

August 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Have you ever changed something?  If you have then you know exactly what I am talking about. When innovators see beyond the here and now and begin to move toward what they see, many people will stand up and try to stop them from going.  If this is you, it is your job as an innovator to keep going and see the dream fulfilled.  People can’t see your vision, they can’t know what you know.  You can tell them everything you see but they will still not have as clear a vision about your dream as you will.

Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth.  If you are going somewhere you need people to tell you to stop if you are going in the wrong direction.  Don’t confuse these people with the ones that are trying to get you to stop because they do not like change.  Rehoboam failed this test when he did not listen to the elders but listened to the younger leaders. (1 Kings 12)  You need people in your life to keep you from going off a cliff.  Leaders cn not lead from a vacuum.

Surround yourself with positive people.  These are people who may not see your exact vision but they will urge you to get there, and help you in any way they can.  Negativity can stop you dead.  Having just one person to cheer you on and tell you that you are doing a good job can drowned out the negative talk.

Put yourself in the shoes of the complainers.  ask yourself, what are they losing, and what do I need to give a little on to help them make the adjustment.  Moving to fast may be your only real problem.  Slowing down and taking the time to explain what you are doing may be all you need to get more people on your side and stop the complaints.

Remember there will always be people you can not please.  Use your positive influences to help you get past their arguments on to what you are called to do.

Image by alonso_inostrosa via cc 2.0

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How Seth Godin Hooked Book Publishers Into Giving Him New Readers

August 25, 2010 by · 2 Comments

I try to keep up with the reading and writing world as best I can because I love to read, and I write what I think on my blog.  Seth Godin recently wrote that he is “Moving On” From traditional book publishing.  By this he meant that he was no longer going to use an editor and publisher for his writing because they separate him from his direct readers.  This has started a firestorm in the publishing world because Mr Godin is a very accomplished author… i.e. he sells a lot of books.  While I and most of his readers see his point it is obvious many book publishers do not and are heading out in defense of their craft.

The first thing I think Seth Godin accomplished was hooking many editors and publisher talkies into republishing his blog post on their blogs.  Brilliant!!!   This gives him tens of thousands of new readers to his blog that may have never heard his name at most, or at least read one of his books.  Controversy gets you in the headlines.  This is what I call the Rush Limbaugh effect.  If you want to get on the front page or get the word out about your stuff be controversial and people will talk.

Second, most of the people I read that replied to Mr Godin missed his point.  He is not connected with the readers of his books, he is connected with the publishers of his books, therefore, he sells book to publishers that they want to buy not that he wants to write.  Publishers buy books way before people do. Seth’s idea is not original.  In 1976 George Lucas negotiated with Fox so that he could have all rights to the end product of Star Wars because producers, and publishers will change your content.

Finally Seth Godin will make more money in the long run controlling his merchandising because of his own idea of the “Long Tail”.  The more he has on the market the more long tails he has to make residual income on.  Right now the publishing industry is making tons of money from digital books.  They are charging $10 at minimum for new digital books that cost them close to $0 to make beyond the writer and the staff that needs to be paid.  If  Seth can publish his works at $5 per digital book and sell half of what he sold traditionally  he will make far more money than any publisher will pay him per book.

Seth and most authors owe their fame or livelihood to the publishers that get them where they are. However it is a new day and a new way of selling books has emerged and the publishing industry has to take note of what people like Seth Godin are doing, not make excuses for getting left behind.  The majority of books I have read in the last year have been bought off websites as pdf’s  not from book stores and not on e-readers.  We will see what happens.  If all else fails Mr. Godin will get a lot of backlinks to his site and a lot of new readers.  Tell me what you think.

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First Impressions With Jesus

August 23, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Do you remember your first introduction to Jesus?  I don’t remember my first introduction, but I remember the impressions I got from his followers. My grandmother was a great example of a Christian for me.  She helped every one who asked, and studied the bible and prayed daily before breakfast.   I also had two very bad examples from chaplains in the Navy, and others that I saw proclaim him but lived awful lives. I let the bad I saw as an adult drive me more than the good I saw as a child and I walked away from him.

I remember meeting Jesus for real at 25 years old.  I remember being overwhelmed and accepting him as the Lord, leader, and savior of my life.  I remember thinking how it could not be true that every bad thing I had done in my life was going to be washed away. I was completely overcome with thankfulness and very aware that the same Jesus knew all that I had done and forgave me anyway.

In the bible John tells us about the first meeting between Jesus and some of his first disciples. Andrew and presumably John himself are disciples of John the Baptist.  As Jesus comes by after being baptized himself John the Baptist tells his two disciples who Jesus really is.  This is the messiah who Israel had been expecting for 400 years.  John calls Jesus, “The Lamb of God,” and the two disciples leave John the Baptist and begin to follow Jesus.

This meeting in a tiny backwater some 60 years earlier changed John the disciples life forever.  John knew where he was as a 70 plus year old man.  He knew what he had been through and how he had gotten to that point in his life.  He also knew where it all began, down by the Jordan river.  Most scholars believe that the unnamed disciple is John and as he writes, he knows this point is the key to his life and wants to recount it for those who will read his letter.

John was young, and possibly a teenager.  He did not have as much to lose as many of the disciples did, but walking away from family was dishonoring and he could still lose his family.  That was a chance he was willing to take.  The other disciples mentioned knew the risks of being associated with the newest messiah in town, but they went anyway.  They knew Jesus was different from the others claiming to be the messiah before him.  John tells of Jesus telling Nathanael what he was doing before he ever met Jesus, through this image Nathanael proclaims Jesus as, “The Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Those disciples knew who Jesus was from the beginning and they followed willingly and they changed the world  I told you a little of my story, so why not share yours?  What was your first impression of Jesus?  Was it so powerful that you would want to write about it in 50 years?  Did a follower of Jesus give you your first impression?  Has your impression changed since the first one?

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Practices For Life

August 12, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

The practices you choose to use in your life will make a difference on your success and failure.As we go through life we all need to be reminded about some simple lessons.  These are simple thing that each person can do but still so difficult for so many to grasp.

Gratitude Will get you pretty far. Being thankful for what you have and for anything you receive will change your outlook on life.  Once you are content with what you have you won’t need anything else.  You can choose to be grateful everyday.  Write down three to five things you are thankful for every night before you go to bed and begin to cultivate a new attitude.

Your thought life determines how you live. This is a play on the first one since all that we put into our mind is what we are going to get out.  If you are continually thinking, “I wish I had that,” or “He’s lucky to get that promotion.”  You will never find happiness.  Seek the Lord first and all you need will be given to you.

Know where you are going. If you have a destination in mind you are more likely to get there than if you don’t.  Take the time to find out where God wants you.  We were given the Holy Spirit as a counselor to help guide us in our walk with Christ.  If you are not seeking him in where you are going then you may not be going the right way.

Don’t worry about what others think.  This is a hard lesson to learn but ties in with the first two above.  We buy and want a lot of new stuff because we are scared of what people think about us.  Grown men shop at clothing stores for teenagers, plastic surgery is sky rocketing, and the lines are around the block to get the newest cell phone that doesn’t even work very well.  All because people worry about what others think.  Look at the birds and the flowers, do they worry and toil, no.  God still provides them with everything they need.

You can only give what you have. Put good stuff into your mind every day so that when you meet people who need what you have you can give it to them.  Listen to good music and teachers, read good books and blogs, don’t watch the news or graphic television shows.  You can get the top news headlines at Google News or newsmap.  When I learned that my TV watching was nothing more than a habit it was easy to stop watching and change my habit.

Be kind. When you find yourself not being kind think about why you are not.  What is in your mind that is causing you to be anything but kind to those around you.  Jesus said to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The person that is closest to you or in need of your help at any point is your neighbor. Love every one like you would yourself.

Image courtesy of Samuel Stocker via cc2.0 licences

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Don’t Worry About Anything

August 9, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Paul Tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 that as believers in Christ we are supposed to pray instead of worry.  I just watched Lawrence Bender being interviewed on the Charlie Rose program (Watch the interview here).  Mr. Bender has a documentary coming out called Countdown to Zero. The movie is about nuclear proliferation and how close we are to a nuclear catastrophe.  He says that within the next 50 years there is a 99% chance that we could have a major nuclear attack somewhere in the world.  As I watched the program I could not help but think of how information like this affects people in their daily lives.  How people lose their happiness because they can not stop worrying about when this or an event like this will happen.

My Bible Study this morning was on Philippians 4:8, but backing up a couple of verses it struck me how this show and this verse collide.  As a Christian we are not supposed to let the world around us get so deeply ingrained that it affects our lives.  When we worry, we are letting that thing take the place of thinking about God, and the good things he has done and is doing in our lives.  When we spend time worrying about global catastrophes that we can not change we are actually hurting ourselves and not helping.

Worry does not just come from the global catastrophes.  It comes from heart disease and cancer, from teenagers and young adults.  It lives in so many forms that we can not escape it even for one day.

What are you worrying about that you can not change? Instead of worrying take the advice in Philippians 4:8

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.(NLT)

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What Traveling Can Teach You About Leadership

August 1, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

My wife, children and I just got home from seeing her father in Indiana. It is a twelve-hour drive so we spent a lot of time thinking, conversing and planning the future. Here are some points on leadership we came up with.

Not Everyone Goes At The Same Speed

When you are driving this is obvious as cars go flying by you at 90 mph, or maybe for you it is reversed but that’s your business.  When you are leading you may not see it as clearly. When you want to see growth in a group of people your first tendency may be that, “I got it, why can’t they.”  Not every concept is as obvious to those we lead as it is to us.  Whether it is their maturity level, or the place they are at in their growth, not everyone will get it at the same time.

Not Everyone Will Follow You.

This has to be one of the most overlooked aspects of being a leader.  You may think everyone will follow you but the odds are that some one will not. Just like cars people will go faster or slower than you do.  People will pass you and some will drop off altogether. This is usually proportionate to your level of leadership.  We all know that if you have a lower level of leadership, people with a higher leadership aptitude will not follow you.  The reverse is true as well.  If you are an eight or nine there are threes and fours that will be jealous of your leading and they won’t follow.

Big Ideas Don’t Come Along As Often As Small Ones.

We went through tens of small towns along the way several medium towns but only three big cities: Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville.  Big ideas are direction changers and take time to work through.  Developing a big ideas may take outside help to give you direction, but they also provide more options than smaller ideas.   Small ideas keep you going and build on the  momentum of the big idea. Smaller ideas may add to the big ideas or they may help your sort out details, but they are not direction changers.  Some small ideas may become big ideas if they are developed right, but that is for another post.

When Coming Out Of Something Big It May Take Time To Get Everyone Up To Speed.

When a big idea has run its course there will be people who want to stay at that level.  They want to hang on to the big idea because it gave them security and some it gave a leadership position to.  If it worked before why will it not work again many ask, not able to realize that times change and ideas become safety nets to keep us from being stretched and changed.  Some will abandon you or the organization for another place that can give them the safety of that one big idea that meant so much to them.

The Going Can Be Slow At Times

Traffic moves slow at times, and so does growth.  There will be times when you are developing an idea and it will feel like no one but you gets it.  Whether it is your growth, your people’s growth, or just the wrong time it will feel like you are going nowhere fast.  During these times you may want to give up or get off the road, but now is not the time.  It is okay to pull over and reevaluate and check your direction, but you need to get back on the road and keep going in the direction you believe you should.  Eventually you will see the pace start to pick up and changes start to take place.

image by flicker user kool_skatkat used under cc2.0 liscense

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